


The Desert Rose

by lastmouseleft



Category: Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Arabian Nights Fusion, Alternate Universe - Genie/Djinn, Alternate Universe - Harem, F/M, Kylo Ren/Rey/Ben Solo - Freeform, Other, Shameless Smut, Smut, breylo - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-23
Updated: 2019-02-07
Packaged: 2019-03-08 09:18:33
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 15
Words: 47,454
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13455204
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lastmouseleft/pseuds/lastmouseleft
Summary: Snoke, ruler of the eastern lands, collects woman as one would collect precious stones. The countries under his power compete to provide him with the most beautiful and exquisite girls in hope to gain his favors. For a poor and isolated land like Jakku, Rey represents a godsend.When she joins the Supreme Leader's harem, she is however not prepared to give up on her independence, but standing up to him and especially to his loyal apprentice Kylo Ren proves very difficult.Her relationship with the knight quickly grows tumultuous and torrid and the mystery of his origins starts to unveil.





	1. Prologue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome, everyone! 
> 
> I had a weird dream including Reylo and [Jinns](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jinn) and it has become the start point for this fic. I have been considering for some time writing a story that would reunite all my favorite tropes, like Breylo (Kylo Ren x Rey x Ben Solo), something that would be a little bit different from the fics I usually write. The chapters will be shorter and there will be a bigger amount of smut... You have been warned.

The desert is usually barren and unmerciful, but it sometimes produces the most exotic flowers.

Kylo Ren had in his possession a specimen of those strange stones the desert folk called a Desert rose and as he examined the young girl, he could not think of a better way to describe her.

She was rather slim and had very narrow hips. She kept her head down, but he could see on her face the freckles her make up did a poor job concealing. But she was undeniably beautiful, in her unique way.  

A disgusting man, called Unkar Plutt, apparently some kind of unofficial _leader_ of the community, kept singing her praises while Kylo Ren circled around her:

“... she is healthy and strong. She has been tough enough to survive in the desert on her own for years. She is fertile and will bear healthy children…”

The man spoke of her as if she were cattle, and maybe she was nothing more to him.

“Is she your bastard?” the knight asked, just to interrupt his continuous blabber.

He was observant enough to catch an almost imperceptible movement of the girl’s fingers that made him realize that she understood his language.

“No, no! She is my… ward. Her parents entrusted her to me when she was a child.

- You said she lived in the desert on her own.

\- She used to be a little… savage when she was younger. She is very obedient now”.

Kylo Ren didn’t believe him. As soon as he came into the room, he had sensed a defiance in her, in the way she stood and in the short glances she kept giving him.

The girl was dressed up in a rather revealing pink mousseline robe that allowed him to admire the delicate curve of her spine and the discreet swell of her small behind. There was something about her elegant figure, her taut muscles and her tanned skins that excited him. Or perhaps it was the effect of all the oils and perfumes that seemed to exhale from her. 

He swallowed and unfortunately, Unkar Plutt noticed it. He smirked at him smugly and it infuriated the knight to no end.

“Is she a virgin?” he cut to the chase, tired of this exchange.

The girl snapped her head up instinctively, then quickly lowered it again. She has obviously been instructed not to look at him directly and was making a very poor job of it.

“Of course!” her guardian reacted with mock-indignation.

“How would you know?

\- She had never been with a man!

\- I have to make sure”.

Panic suddenly twisted the girl’s delicate facial features. She looked in horror from the knight to her guardian, seeking his help.

“Alright”, Unkar Plutt conceded to her dismay.

“ _La_!” she screamed when two servants who had been squatting quietly against the wall came to hold her still while Kylo Ren advanced on her.

She tried to fight them off, but her movements were slow and heavy and he wandered for an instant if she had been drugged. The servants held her by the arms and she moaned desperately while he removed one of his gloves and bent down slightly to slip his hand between her legs.

The first contact of his fingers made her gasp loudly. The skin of her lips felt incredibly soft and he allowed himself the luxury to strike them a couple of time, eliciting the most delicious whine from her and making her bite her lip, before diving his digits between her folds. Her face scrunched up in pain as he searched for that little piece of flesh, the proof of her innocence.

She sighed in relief when he finally removed his hand from the apex between her thighs. Her cheeks burned red with embarrassment and outrage and at the way she looked at him then, he knew that she would have attacked him if she could. She would have bit his throat and tore it like a furious beast if the servants weren’t holding her back. He smirked down at her while another servant landed him a wet towel and he slowly cleaned his fingers off her essence.

“What is your name?” he asked her, amused by her scowl.

“Her name is Rey”, Unkar Plutt answered in her place.

Kylo Ren slowly turned his head towards the man and the intimidating gaze he addressed him nearly petrified the man.

The knight put on his glove again, and almost nonchalantly declared, not talking to the man or the girl in particular:

“She will do”.

Unkar Plutt applauded enthusiastically:

“This is a great day for Jakku! A great day indeed!

\- Don’t rejoice too quickly. She’ll have to prove herself.

\- I am sure she will.

\- The Supreme Leader doesn’t stand for rebellious behavior.

\- Don’t worry about it. She knows how to behave”.

Kylo Ren spared a last glance in her direction before exiting the room. She was still flustered but seemed to have calmed down. When he met her gaze, he saw something burning deep in her eyes, a challenge, a pride he couldn’t wait to snuff out. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kylo Ren is exactly the kind of smug bastard who fingers a girl before asking her name, but of course, you can imagine that he has more to him than it seems. 
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this very short introduction. I will be very grateful if you cared to give me your opinion. What do you expect of this fic? What would you like to see happen? 
> 
> P.S. Rey screams "La" in this chapter and it means no in Arabic.


	2. The Jinn

Rey sat by the oriel window, watching the sun rise behind the distant mountains. She enjoyed this rare moment of quiet before the other girls woke up. She missed the silence of the desert.

Here in the palace, everything was loud. The girls talked and laughed and played music all day long. Rey had never been confronted with such commotion before and it startled her at first when she arrived, but with time, she grew used to it. One can become used to anything apparently.

The window overlooked a courtyard and Rey often witnessed the to-ings and fro-ings of messengers and knights going off on early missions. Their activities fascinated her at first, but now she only felt resentment towards them. She envied their freedom -or what she thought was freedom- when she was trapped in this gilded cage that was the harem.

Sometimes, she would see _him_ , the man who came to fetch her from her land a few weeks ago. He exclusively wore dark clothes and always had a scarf to cover his face, but she never failed to recognize his imposing stature and his arrogant gait.

Her stomach was tied in knots every time she laid eyes on him with what she could only interpret as anger. She felt defiled by the memory of his touch, enraged by the way he smiled at her while he stroked her. She longed to show him what she was really capable of, that she was able to defend herself and her honor. The only reason she bared such humiliation had been the promise she made to Jakku’s people. And she was always true to her word.

She had agreed to sacrifice her freedom so they would have a decent life. If she managed to please the Supreme Leader, her homeland was expected to receive many benefits and she would succeed in putting an end to the misery she had witnessed all through her life.

Still, when the knight came for her and started probing her as though she was meat, she realized that what was expected of her might be beyond what she was able to bear.

As if she had invoked him, simply by thinking of him, the dark knight appeared in the courtyard. He came out of the stables followed by the same footman who usually served him. The young man held the bridles of his master’s horse, an impressive creature that puffed and shook its head nervously. Indeed, the dark stallion was so massive, its muscles glistening with sweat, that Rey wondered how it was even possible to mount it.

The dark knight and the footman seemed to have a heated conversation but perched that high up from them, she couldn’t hear what they were saying. She leaned against the carved wood, looking through the intricate latticework, in an attempt to better see them, when suddenly he noticed her.

The knight swiftly turned around and looked in her direction.

She knew that he could distinguish her silhouette behind the window and despite all her efforts, she unable to move away. As if under some dark spell, Rey was trapped by his gaze. Her skin was flooded with goosebumps when she heard his voice talking to her as clearly as if he were standing next to her:

“ _Warda_ , little rose!”

She screamed and with great effort, she was finally able to break his hold. She slipped from the edge of the window she was sitting on and curled up under it to hide, sweating and panting as if she had seen a ghost. Later, she would feel silly at reacting so fearfully, but at that moment, she sensed that something unnatural had happened.  When she regained her senses and stood up to look at the courtyard again, she saw that he was gone.

“Don’t you know who he is? That is Kylo Ren. They say he is a Jinn”, a girl from the harem told her later, all too proud to share a piece of information that the newcomer didn’t know.

Tea was a time during which the women were able to relax and mingle, especially the new “recruits” who usually spent their days in etiquette, eloquence, music, and god-knows how many other lessons aiming to improve their skills and making them suitable for court life.

Rey usually didn't care to talk to the other young women living in the harem and usually avoided joining in their gossip. The only persons she really interacted with were the servants, her professors, and Phasma, the superintendent who overlooked her education. However, she was so desperate for information about the dark knight she decided that she would join the discussion today.

She approached a circle of girls she had observed enough to know they weren’t mean and they welcomed her eagerly. They were obviously curious to know more about the mysterious girl coming from a far land in the western desert. They presented her with a tiny glass of hot red tea and Rey drank from it, although she still wasn’t used to the utterly sugary and bitter taste of the beverage.

When she mentioned the knight, the girls exchanged worried glances, expect the eldest of them who seemed too happy to share what little she knew about him.

“A Jinn? I thought they were a legend!” Rey reacted.

“Oh! They are too real”, the girl whispered, stealing a glance over her shoulder to make sure no one was eavesdropping on the little group’s discussion. “How do you presume the Supreme Leader conquered so many lands? He used his magic to control the Jinns and with their help, he was able to vanquish his enemies”.

Rey knew very little about these creatures except that they were said to be have roamed the earth before the advent of men. They were supposedly mortals but held powers that humans could only dream of. She always presumed that they were made up, the mere characters of folktales to amuse and scare the children. But if she were to believe that Kylo Ren was one of them, it would explain how he was able to speak to her that morning, and perhaps why he kept appearing in her dreams.

For she dreamt of him often, too often. He appeared to her in her sleep, an undefined presence murmuring her name in the most sensual way, its unique syllable rolling on his tongue like luscious honey. They were nightmares if her thumping heartbeat and ragged breathing were any indications, but she still felt somehow ashamed to keep thinking of him. Besides the way he treated her in Jakku, she blamed him as much as Snoke for depriving her of her freedom.

That night, however, her dream was different. It had an unusual and troubling clarity to it.

Rey was sleeping in the dormitory she shared with the other newcomers when a dark smoke started gathering at the foot of her bed and slowly took on a human shape. It stretched itself to cover her with its intangible body, a pair of flaming globes appearing in the middle of what seemed to be its face.

“Little Rose”, it spoke directly into her mind. “Don’t fear me”.   

She didn't dare open her eyes, but she was somehow able to see him. She didn’t utter a sound not to startle the other girls from their sleep, so the creature went on:

“Don’t you know that I am a prisoner like you? You have captured me the moment I laid eyes on you”.

The “ghost” caressed her cheek and its ethereal touch was delicate and hot as the desert wind. It traced the shape of her mouth, its head hanging over hers and its eyes looking increasingly human.

“I am burning with desire…” It said and it sounded as if out of breath. “... for you”.

Rey opened her eyes, realizing that it was all a dream. There was no smoke creature in the room with her, but there was, however, an odd sensation between her legs, a throbbing, a want she did not understand.

During her young life, she had been solely preoccupied with her survival and ignored anything apart from her basics needs for food and shelter. She was innocent and was as much ignorant of love as she was of her own body.

She tried to get rid of the pressure that coiled at her center by rubbing her thighs together, but her efforts only made it worse. She slipped her hand under the cover, a bit panicked, not comprehending what was happening to her, and when she cupped herself, a sudden discharge of pleasure shook her whole body.

A little gasp fell from her lips when she pressed her hand further down and discovered that she was wet. Part of her wondered if she was sick, but her own touch was so delectable her thoughts were becoming increasingly clouded. She had to turn her face into her pillow to muffle the sound of her loud breathing while her hand moved increasingly fast against her core, chasing something she could not define, a feeling of utter satisfaction that made her whole being shiver and quake. There was something familiar about it as if she had already felt this way before.

“Kylo!”, she yelped suddenly.

Her eyes widened in horror when she heard herself pronounce his name. Her hand froze and she starred in the dark, her pleasure turning into a staggering shame.

She quickly threw the cover over her head and coiled herself up, desperately trying to hide from her own feelings. She still didn’t fathom what had occurred to her, but she knew that she didn’t want to be confronted with it again. She wished she would never see him again

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My dear readers, 
> 
> Thank you for the comments and all the kudos and the overall support you have shown for this new fic here and over on Tumblr! Your reactions brighten my life (and believe me, it has been a bit gloomy lately). 
> 
> Your comments not only have a boosting effect on my morale, they guide me in my writing. So please, don't ever hesitate to share your opinions with me. 
> 
> Kylo Ren calls Rey "Warda", which simply means "rose" in Arabic. 
> 
> If you want to expand your knowledge of Jinns, those fascinating creatures who are part of Arabic folklore (a lot of people in my home country, Tunisia, still believe in them, as they also do in many eastern countries), there are many websites (including very dodgy ones) out there, but the [Wikipedia page](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jinn) is a very good start. The Genie in Aladdin is actually a Jinn condemned to serve whoever possesses the lamp he is trapped in, but you already know the story.


	3. Innocence Lost

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey starts to draw the attention of Supreme Leader Snoke.

Snoke’s harem was the envy of the world. It consisted of the finest women, the most exquisite creatures born in the eastern lands and the Supreme Leader guarded it like a collection of precious jewels. For it was the proof of his power as much as its guarantee.

One can find different types of residents in the harem, from princesses to paupers who had been fortunate enough to be bestowed with uncommon beauty. The women of noble births were actually hostages that insured their families obedience and loyalty, but the others also served a particular purpose. Indeed, the harem was above all an asset, a weapon in Snoke’s quest for power.

He knew that men longed to be rational, but that in truth they were slaves to their emotions and urges. The feasts and opulent parties he often organized were the occasions to display his prized possessions to the princes and noblemen from the eastern lands who all too easily succumbed to the charms of the harem’s residents. For every man, he had a woman -or a eunuch for those who preferred men- who could capture his heart, that would render him lenient and submissive to Snoke's control.

The Supreme Leader was thus very interested in the progress of the new additions to his collection. He demanded from Phasma, the superintendent of his harem, a weekly update that she provided with the regularity of an army’s general.

Today, he welcomed her at the solarium, where he was enjoying a glass of tea while his faithful apprentice, Kylo Ren, stood guard.   

Snoke kept a lacquered box with the names and the characteristics of each and every girl from the harem written on a wooden plate. He brushed his bony fingers over the thin edges of the plates like a greedy man caressing his gold, listening to Phasma’s latest report.

“Tell me about this girl Rey”, he demanded, while he pulled out the plate with her name written on it.

Kylo Ren’s fingers had the slightest tremor when he heard her mentioned, but it was enough for his master to notice. Snoke turned his head towards him with a gleam in his eye:

“She is the one you brought from the desert, isn’t, Kylo Ren?  

\- Yes, _Mawlay_!

\- Jakku, was it?

\- Yes.

\- How is she doing, Phasma?”

The dark knight was relieved to see his master bring his attention back to the superintendent.

“She is a bit solitary, although she seems to get along with the other girls. She has no discernible skills in music or dance”, Phasma revealed and Kylo Ren listened very carefully, though he feigned indifference.

“She is uneducated. It is expected from someone coming from Jakku”, remarked Snoke.

“But she is a fast learner. Remarkably so!” she clarified. “She also knows who to read and write, skills I believe she has acquired on her own.

\- You think she has potential?

\- Indeed! I believe she is very clever”, she said enthusiastically.

“You will know, Phasma, that many men don’t consider a great intelligence in a woman attractive”.

The superintendent was taken aback by the Supreme Leader’s words. Her smile slowly vanished from her lips and she waited silently until he resumed the conversation:

“She is a virgin”, Snoke read out of the wooden plate. “That’s a good thing. Does she know anything about sex, though?

\- I don’t think so.

\- You don’t think so? Find out! If she doesn’t, she’ll probably need to be educated on the matter.

\- Yes, _Mawlay_ ”.

Phasma glanced towards Kylo Ren and was surprised to see that he was clenching his fists so hard, his arms were trembling. She averted her gaze, quickly, before the Supreme Leader would notice.

Later, when she came back to the harem, she asked for Rey and a servant went to fetch the girl for her. While she waited, she demanded that a hookah would be prepared for her. She started smoking it until Rey finally showed up at the courtyard.

It was still morning, but it was as hot as midday and the earthenware benches provided a much-needed freshness to the two women as they sat side by side.

“Tell me, Rey” Phasma started after taking a puff of the hookah. “Do you have any experience in love.

\- Love?” The girl asked, fluttering her eyelashes.

“I know you are a virgin, but do you have any experience with men?”

Rey frowned in confusion. She’d never had this kind of discussion with Phasma before and her prolonged silence made the superintendent impatient:

“I mean sex. Have you any experience in sex?

\- I don’t really…

\- Don’t you touch yourself?

\- What? I… No!” Rey lied.

She was ashamed to confess that she had just started exploring that side of herself a few days ago. After that night when the “ghost” of Kylo Ren came to her in her dreams, she had been experimenting with her own body. In the rare occasions, she was alone, she tried to touch herself again between her legs, but although it felt good, it never was quite as pleasant as it did when she dreamt of him and the realization frustrated her to no end.

Phasma sighed when she saw the furious blush spreading on Rey’s cheeks. She regretted having been so crude with the girl. The task at hand turned out to be greater than she assumed.  

“Do you have any idea what happens between a man and a woman?

\- I heard things. Things the girls used to say, back in Jakku.

\- What kind of things?

\- They said that a girl’s most precious possession was her virtue and that men were only after one thing, to steal it.

\- Well, that’s a silly way to put it, but they’re not wrong.

\- They also made jokes about the easy girls who spread their legs for men. They kept saying that they had no honor and no self-respect

\- Were they any better, the girls who made those jokes?

\- I don’t really know”.

Phasma smiled affectionately at Rey. She had a true fondness for the girl for she was smart and more sincere than the other harem’s residents.

“Rey, there is nothing wrong with being innocent. But being ignorant can play against you sooner or later. The girls from Jakku were right. Men… well most of them… are lustful creatures. They have an insatiable desire for women’s bodies and they would go to any lengths just to be able to bury themselves between their legs.

\- Even Jinns?”

Phasma’s eyes widened in surprise when she heard the girl’s question.

“Jinns? Well, they share the same needs for air and food than humans, so they probably have desires too”

Rey worried at her bottom lip as she considered the answer.

“Maybe we will continue to talk about this later”, the superintendent suggested. “I am certain other girls like you would benefit from a few lectures on this subject”.

The young woman shook her head in agreement, but she seemed already lost in thought.

When the night came and she couldn’t find rest, Rey made sure that all the girls in the dormitory were asleep and slipped out silently to head for the Hamman. She enjoyed the baths a lot. For someone born in the desert, such a waste of water could be considered an abomination, but she couldn’t find it in her heart to dislike it.

There was nobody in the great bathroom, just like she hoped. She walked towards the edge of the great pool and laid down on her side. She dipped her fingers into the water, lazily drawing circles over the surface that spread into growing waves.

She had no idea that she was being watched.

In the opposite side of the palace, Kylo Ren had been struggling to find peace. All day long, he had been tormented by the jealousy that Snoke’s words about Rey had flared inside him. He tried to reason with himself, convince himself that she was his master’s possession and that she was definitely out of his reach, but the knowledge that she was forbidden to him only made her the more alluring.

He kept thinking of her, trying to remember the way she smelled, the right shade of her sun-tanned skin, but they had had so few interactions since he escorted her from Jakku. Even during their journey back, she had avoided him and remained hidden inside the coach she was traveling in. He only properly saw her when she had been presented to him by her guardian and when she had been introduced to Snoke upon her arrival at the palace. And yet…

Yet, he was haunted by her, inexplicably drawn to her. He never felt this way before about anyone. His life was only been dedicated to serving his master and he longed only to follow in his footsteps, but now… Now he used every single moment he had to himself to observe her, using his magic to spy on her from afar.

He watched Rey as she played with the water in the pool. She was wearing a robe that showed the shape of her small breasts. It slowly slipped down until he could see her nipple and he gasped loudly when he noticed that she had a beauty spot at the edge of her areola.

He started fantasizing about taking her pert breast into his mouth. He imagined himself lapping at her tit and sucking it until she mewled with pleasure. He pictured her naked body, trying to summon the memory of every part he had already seen and imagining the rest, although he knew his imagination wouldn’t do her justice. In his mind, she was splayed under him and he guided his member inside her haven as she cried out his name euphorically like she would pray a god.

His hand found its way inside his pants and he winced when he circled his fingers around his cock.

“Oh! Little Rose”, he breathed as he started pumping his dick.

Rey gave a start as if she heard him and he froze. His magic allowed him to see her and send his words to her, but he didn’t will them to reach her this time.

She put herself in a sitting position and looked around, and Kylo Ren thought that maybe she had heard something else that caught her attention at the same moment he had spoken. But what she said then left no doubt in his mind:

“Kylo Ren, is that you?”

There was expectation in her voice, or perhaps he was reading too much into it. Still, he was absolutely baffled that she could sense him. He hesitated awhile before he decided to reply:

“Yes”.

She gasped when she heard his answer and a triumphant smile appeared on her lips:

“You are not really here, are you?

\- No.

\- How do you do that? Is it something the Jinns are able to do?”

So she knew. Kylo Ren felt inexplicably saddened by the revelation as if the distance between them had grown further.

When the silence lingered between them, she thought she might have offended him and she lowered her eyes in embarrassment. She looked at her reflection in the dark water and murmured:

“I am sorry. I have never met a Jinn before. There are so many things I still ignore”.

He felt moved by her confession. She really seemed chagrined by her lack of knowledge. But how could an innocent girl like her be able to detect his presence? Suddenly, he realized that there was something more special about her than the fiery look she gave him the day they met.

Kylo Ren withdrew, shutting off the connection between them. He had to make sure that Snoke would not find out what he himself just discovered, or otherwise Rey’s life could be in danger.

The next day, however, to his distress, his master confronted him about her:

“Tell me, boy. Do you like her?

\- Like her?

\- Don’t play dumb with me. You cannot deceive me. I can see right through you.

\- Yes, Master.

\- Tell me. Do you like that girl Rey?

\- I think I do, _Mawlay_.

\- Oh! How unexpected! You have fallen for a human girl, my apprentice? What is so special about her?

\- She is… defiant. She has a fire burning inside her.

\- So it is the challenge that attracts you! Interesting! I wonder if your _original_ would be as much interested in her as you are”.

Kylo Ren stiffened and his lips twitched uncontrollably. He had expected that Snoke would use this new weakness to manipulate him, but unfortunately, he hadn’t anticipated this turn of events.

The jealousy he had experienced the day before came back with a vengeance as he imagined Rey being thrown into the arms of another man, be him his exact replica.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just wanted to say that I don't share the characters' opinions about men and women. I don't think that all men are obsessed with sex nor that intelligence is bad in a woman. There. In case you thought I was actually that kind of person. 
> 
> Thank you so much for all the kudos and comments! I am impressed by the amount of love this fic has been receiving and I can only hope the new chapter will be up to your expectations. 
> 
> I have a Tumblr if you would like to chat about this fic, Reylo or anything you feel like: lastmouseleft.tumblr.com
> 
> Oh, and "Mawlay" means "My Lord" in Arabic.


	4. Embers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey is summoned by Snoke. She meets Kylo Ren in the flesh for the first time since she has arrived at the harem.

There was always a strange odor floating around the harem, an amber scent Rey came to really appreciate. She was curious to know its provenance and when she saw one morning a young servant filling a richly decorated incense burner with what looked like chips of wood, she approached her to inquire about it:

“Good morning”, she greeted the young girl who jolted in surprise.

“Good morning, My Lady”, she replied shyly, her eyes fixed on the floor.

“May I ask you what it is you are putting in there?”

The servant lifted her head in surprise and Rey felt slightly embarrassed by the way she stared at her in disbelief, as if it was incredible she didn’t know such a basic thing.

“It is _bakhoor_ , My Lady”, the girl still replied gently. “It is incense, wood chips covered in perfumed oils.

\- Thank you”, Rey said with a smile. “We didn’t have such a thing where I come from. It really smells wonderful”.

The young servant smiled back at Rey, somehow grateful for the attention a harem resident was giving her. The other women who lived there usually treated the servants with disdain or at best just ignored them.

“She doesn’t even know what incense is!” Rey suddenly heard someone remark with a mocking laughter.

She turned around and saw a group of girls watching her. They were of noble birth, she reckoned by their outfits and the general arrogant air they exuded. She scrunched up her nose at them in irritation but didn’t react otherwise to their provocation. She knew that boredom made some girls act quite viciously.

“Come on, girls! Don’t be so inconsiderate. She comes from Jakku. She is poor and uneducated. She cannot be blamed for not knowing anything” the one who seemed to be the leader of the pack intervened and her friends laughed even more.

Anger twirled in the pit of Rey’s stomach like a rising tornado, but with a deep breath, she was able to stifle it. During her young life, she learned that in order to survive she had to choose her battles. These girls had no idea what real life was. They probably never knew real hunger and never had to scrap for food like she used to. Their judgment meant nothing to her. Besides, their mockery was nothing compared to the bullying she had suffered at the hands of Unkar Plutt.

Rey found enough resolve in her heart to muster a tranquil smile and the girls' laughter faded slowly when they saw it. They seemed confused by her reaction. She turned her back to them and brought her attention to the young servant who was busy putting fire to the incense.

“Let me help you with that”, Rey suggested and the girl answered in a panic:

“Oh no, My Lady! You shouldn’t!

\- It’s alright. I want to try. And, please, call me Rey”.

A smile brightened the servant’s face and she handed her lamp to Rey so she could ignite the small embers of _bakhoor_. They heard the group of noble girls whispering scornful remarks, but they ignored them, watching with fascination as the fire flared up.

An older servant suddenly appeared in the room, quickly making her way towards Rey. She saluted her then revealed:

“You have been summoned, My Lady”.

Rey fluttered her eyelashes in surprise while the other girls watched the scene with interest.

“By whom?” she asked.

“By Supreme Leader Snoke”.

The noble girls' reaction was revelatory. The Supreme Leader seldom asked to meet one of the harem’s residents alone. They only left their apartments for special occasions, when a party or banquet was taking place, and Rey hadn’t even been to one of those yet. She was going to leave the harem for the first time since she arrived.

She had waited for so long for this moment to arrive, an occasion to finally leave her cage. But her joy was spoiled by the prospect of facing Snoke.

The day she arrived, she had been presented to him and he barely paid her any mind, busy discussing another matter with one of his advisers. He just nodded when Kylo Ren introduced her and described her merits, as if he really knew her, then dismissed them both with a gesture of his hand. It had been enough, though, to make a lasting impression on her.

Since the moment she set her eyes on him, she felt appalled, not only by his appearance but the malevolent aura that came out of him. Although she had met some horrible people in her life, she had never sensed such darkness before in anyone. That impression of malice remained with her long after she left.

“Should I perhaps change?” she asked, in hope to delay her meeting with Snoke rather than because she cared about her appearance.

“The Supreme Leader is waiting for you”, simply replied the servant, coaxing her to hurry.

When they arrived at the gates of the harem, the servant knocked a few times before the door panels opened for them. Behind them was Kylo Ren waiting to escort Rey to his master. She gasped loudly when she saw him and he lazily turned his head towards her to offer her a disdainful look.

She unconsciously took a step back, but the door loudly closed behind her and she was forced to face him.

He seemed inexplicably cold, somehow annoyed and Rey wondered if he was the same creature who had been talking to her in her sleep and calling her sweet names. Perhaps, it had all been a dream, a mirage of her own mind’s making.

“Let’s go”, he just said to her before leading the way.

She had trouble keeping up with his strides. All the way through, he kept a distance between them, as if he couldn’t stand to be close to her. Little did she know that he was burning for her.

Her presence was intoxicating. Her smell invaded his senses. He had to keep away from her if he didn’t want to lose his control.

“Wait, please”, he heard her call. “Wait, Kylo”.

When she pronounced his name, it was like she cast a spell on him. He froze, an invisible grip holding him in place until she was able to join him.

“What is happening? Why am I being summoned?” she asked in anguish and he couldn’t bear to see her so distressed.

“It’s nothing”, he just replied, but it didn’t seem to reassure her.

“Why are you… You seem so different”, she stammered and his reaction was all but startling:

“How would you know if I am different? You don’t know anything about me! Stop pretending you are special! You are nothing! You come from nothing!”

Kylo Ren regretted his words immediately and he was more shocked by them than Rey seemed to be. Her face hardened into an unforgiven expression and she stared at him defiantly.

“The Supreme Leader does not approve insolence”, he hissed through clenched teeth. “He will not stand for your rebellious temper. You better not provoke his anger.

\- Is it true you are a prisoner?” she asked him, further destabilizing him.

“Who told you that?

\- You did! Once, in my dream.

\- You have no idea what you are talking about!”

He turned his back to her and they continued on their way in silence. When they reached the room where the Supreme leader was awaiting them, Kylo Ren addressed a few last instructions to Rey before they went in:

“Do not look him directly in the eyes. Do not speak if you haven’t been told to.

\- What is it to you if your master is angry at me?” she just said.

She went past him and her shoulder brushed his arm. He remembered the day when he met her, the moment he touched her, how warm and soft her skin felt. He wished he could touch her again. He wanted to grab her arm and force her against him, to kiss her pouting lips and her elegant neck. Instead, he watched passively as she walked towards his master.

When he saw her arrive, the Supreme Leader exclaimed enthusiastically:

“Rey, come closer, my dear!”

Her legs grew heavy and it was with much effort that she compelled them to bring her closer to him. He was sitting in a wooden chair carved with intricate motifs while a servant fanned him and another poured some _eau de vie_ in his glass. He winced when he took a sip of the powerful liquor.

Kylo Ren came to stand next to him, maintaining an air of impassivity, but a subtle quiver of his lips betrayed his nervosity.

Rey kept her head down, somehow admitting that Kylo Ren’s advice was for her benefit, and waited for the Supreme Leader to finish enjoying his drink.

He placed the empty glass on the plate his servant was holding out for him, then he cleared his voice.

“Show me your eyes, girl” he ordered and Rey slowly raised her head.

She tried to take on a serene expression, to make her emotions unreadable, but it was impossible for her to ignore the darkness that emanated from him. She couldn’t dispel the hint of distrust and challenge she had in her eyes.

“Oh, I see what you mean, Kylo Ren! This girl has passion in her”, Snoke commented, amused. “Some men appreciate paradoxes in a woman. Delicate, yet strong. Innocent, yet passionate. You might be just what I need for Ben Solo”.

Rey never heard the name before, but she noticed the impact it had on Kylo Ren. He went suddenly rigid and when she met his eyes, she saw distress.

“I have invited the prince to a banquet next month” the old man went on. “You will be introduced to him then. You will have to make yourself desirable to him. You will have to seduce him”.

She knitted her eyebrows in confusion and looked at the dark knight, seeking his support, but he purposefully avoided her gaze this time.

“You will be receiving private lessons to prepare you for the banquet. We have to make sure that you are ready to meet the prince.

\- Why me?” she asked, foregoing Kylo Ren’s warning about never speaking to Snoke if she wasn’t instructed to.

The Supreme Leader swiftly jumped out of his seat and came towards her. She tried to flee, but something was holding her in place. He reached with his wrinkled hand and touched her cheek. The feeling of his long nails grazing her skin made her gasp.

“Why indeed?”, he laughed while turning his head in the direction of his apprentice.

Kylo Ren pretended he didn’t care, but he always struggled to hide his emotions from his master. One could clearly see at the flaring of his nostrils, at the clenching of his jaw, that the situation was unbearable to him. He kept glancing at them, then looking away, torn between the need to help Rey and the obedience he owed to his master.

“You can leave”, Snoke finally said while heading back to his seat.

Rey swallowed hard and could only move again when Kylo Ren quietly whispered to her to follow him.

They didn’t say a word to one another all the way back to the harem. The rest of the day went by quickly while Rey was trapped in a stupor she couldn’t shake off until the night came.

As soon as she laid down in bed, he came to her. His spirit took shape next to her and she could swear she could feel his breath against the nape of her neck.

“Go away!” she told him, whispering so the girls sleeping in the room wouldn’t hear her.

“Forgive me. Please.

\- No! Leave me, alone.

\- You have to understand. I just want to protect you.

\- I don’t need your protection”.

She felt his invisible fingers caressing her naked shoulder and she quickly pushed them away.

“No!” she exclaimed, a bit too loudly.

A girl moaned in her sleep and Rey had to bite her lower lip to prevent another sound to come out from her mouth when she felt him touch her hair.

“Please”, he whispered in her ear and the utter sorrow that his voice conveyed softened her heart.

She turned her head slightly towards him and was faced with the two burning globes that stood for his eyes.

“Is this a dream? Tell me it is not a dream”, she murmured.

“It is not a dream.

\- Why do you keep appearing to me like this? Are you playing with me?

\- I am not. I cannot keep away from you.

\- Why?

\- I want you. I want you!

\- Why were you so cold earlier? Why did you treat me as if you hated me?

\- Forgive me”.

The ethereal creature tilted its “head” closer to Rey’s and she found out that she didn’t have it in her to move away. The dark smoke touched her lips and it felt as soft as a breeze and as hot as fire. A fire that didn’t burn her skin but sparked a warmth inside her. It crackled like the embers of incense she saw earlier, diffusing a feeling of bliss in her body.

She pictured Kylo Ren’s face and imagined that it was his lips she was kissing and not a mere projection of him. She tried to deepen the kiss, but his form was volatile and elusive. Still, she moaned in frustration when he broke their embrace.

“I wish you were here with me”, he said to her and she couldn’t agree more. His phantom touch had left her yearning for more.

“Rest now, little rose.

\- No. Kiss me again”, she demanded and on the other side of the palace, Kylo Ren’s heart throbbed at the intensity of her passion. “I won’t forgive you if you do not kiss me”.

Her threat surprised him as much as it delighted him. He captured her lips again, and though she felt hazy and distant like in a dream, his blood was boiling with desire for her. He longed to taste her mouth, to lick her lips and to suck her tongue, but he had to do with this aerial kiss that went on until they were both left panting.

“Will you forgive me now?” he asked and she smirked at him playfully:

“We'll see”.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for all the comments, kudos, and bookmarks! I am feeling very down lately and your encouragements are more helpful than you can imagine.


	5. Mirage

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey is being prepared to meet the prince Ben Solo while her hidden nature is starting to manifest.

The musician hit the tight leather of his instrument and the sound of the goblet drum echoed in the room and vibrated through Rey’s tired bones. The dance teacher, a short old woman who wore too much kohl around the eyes and too many rings around her fingers, gestured for her to come forward. 

“Come, try again”, the old woman said encouragingly, although her trembling voice betrayed her own fatigue. 

They had been going at it for hours -for days- and if it wasn’t for the old woman’s insistence, Rey would have given up by now. Instead, she took a deep breath and stepped forward to execute the same dance movements she had been trying to master since morning. 

She wished her lessons were conducted behind closed doors, but there was no such thing as privacy in the harem. After her last meeting with Snoke, the news that she had been selected to entertain Ben Solo the next time he visited the palace didn’t take long to spread and now Rey had to put up with an audience of curious girls who didn’t restrain from commenting and laughing at every small stumble she made. 

She did her best to ignore them along with her teacher’s scrutinous eyes. She moved one foot then the other, carefully drawing semi-circles on the floor with the tip of her toes, just the way she had been instructed to. She delicately swayed her thin hips to the rhythm of the drum and waved her arms around her, mustering as much elegance and confidence as she could.  

“Your movements have to be more fluid, more graceful”, so the dance teacher kept saying but despite all her efforts, Rey seemed unable to satisfy her instructor. 

“Try to relax. Give in to the music”. 

Rey swallowed hard and tried to loosen up, but even she could tell that her movements were stiff and clumsy. 

Never had she faced such a challenge before. Back when she lived on her own, in Jakku, she had no trouble mastering new skills. She taught herself how to read and count, how to fight with a staff and defend her precious findings from the other scavengers. But dancing… dancing was somehow different. She followed the instructions to the letter, but it turned out to be insufficient as if something was holding her back… Perhaps, a fear, an irrational belief that if she gave in to her instincts, something terrible would happen. 

She was tempted to hate Ben Solo for being the cause of this ordeal. For days now, she had been compelled to sit through hours of lessons. She was constantly observed and judged by teachers and servants who tried to make Rey into something she was not: a temptress, the perfect courtesan. They taught her how to sway her hips intently when she walked, how to toss her hair and flutter her eyelashes suggestively while she talked and how to make her laugh a weapon of seduction. As for her looks, Rey had to undergo daily treatments at the hands of the servants. They waxed her body hair with caramel, scrubbed her skin and rubbed it with oils and creams to make it softer and soaked her hair with perfumes. She went through it all without a single complaint, although she secretly resented being treated like some piece of meat to be presented as a dish for his majesty the prince at the next banquet. 

“By the gods! Why are you so tense?” the old woman yelled in exasperation and Rey could feel her cheeks heating with indignation at the sound of laughter rising from the crowd. 

The teasing, instead of discouraging her, stirred her determination. Her aching muscles begged for some respite, but she ignored them. She shut her eyes so she could concentrate better on the rhythm of the drum. 

Rey's heartbeat accelerated with the cadence of the music and the tension in her body started to ease off. She felt the floor vibrating under her naked feet, the echo rippling through her bones and when she moved her limbs they no longer felt as heavy. 

“Yes! That’s it!” she heard the teacher exclaim enthusiastically, but her voice sounded oddly distant.

The music caressed her skin. It surrounded her like a liquid, soft and strangely comforting. She gave in to it and allowed it to guide her, to guide her steps and she moved around, following a choreography that the drum whispered into her ears. The rhythm grew frenzied and she started spinning around until she felt light-headed, a deep sensation of satisfaction coiling inside her stomach. 

She felt dizzy, she felt tired, yet free. Drunk on the sensation, she barely noticed when it happened. Something inside her unlocked, like a door that led to a dark secret she already knew but has always refused to acknowledge. Suddenly, all her senses seemed heightened and she had the impression that she was floating.  

When she opened her eyes, Rey gasped as her eyes took in the strange forms dancing around her, transparent waves that spread around the room at incredible speed. They emanated from the drum, growing, growing, before bouncing against the walls in an eerie yet fascinating display.

Panic took hold of her instantly and almost completely. The feeling of liberation she previously experienced vanished all too quickly. She shut her eyes and shook her head, screaming, desperate to chase away the visions, for her mind refused to admit that they were something more than visions. 

She had trouble breathing and her ears started ringing loudly. She thought she heard her teacher calling her name and when she opened her eyes again, she realized that she had fainted as she found herself laying on her back on the floor with the half-worried half-curious faces of the harem’s girls hanging above her. 

“Make way” she recognized the authoritative voice of Phasma yelling at them and they scattered like a flock of startled birds. 

The superintendent’s face appeared above Rey followed by the dance teacher’s. 

“You should have told me you were tired, child”, the old woman scolded her gently, perhaps too gently. She was obviously apprehensive that Phasma would blame her for what had happened. 

The blonde woman had anything but compassion in her eyes as she stared at Rey. She seemed rather annoyed, even. 

“Can you stand?” she asked Rey and the girl nodded, although her head still felt heavy. 

She pushed on her wobbly arms to sit, then, with a deep breath and great effort, she was able to stand up on her feet while the superintendent watched her intently. 

“Come”, Phasma ordered her with a slight movement of her head. 

“Perhaps, she should take some rest”, the teacher tried to protest though without much conviction.

“She’ll rest after I have a word with her!” the tall woman replied dryly as Rey tried her best to keep up with her long strides. 

Phasma was clement enough to stop at the nearest quiet corner she could find. There was a small unoccupied table surrounded by pillows and ottomans and after she ordered a few girls seating nearby to find somewhere else to finish their discussion, she told Rey to sit down. 

“Do you feel better?” she asked, her tone finally betraying her concern. 

“Yes”, Rey reassured her with a faint smile, though the superintendent’s strict demeanor made her nervous. 

What the blonde woman said to her next definitely confirmed her worries: 

“The prince will be here in a week, and you are far from ready to meet him”. 

Rey knew that Phasma had been monitoring her progress and that she hadn’t been up to her expectations, but she had hoped that she had a bit more time to prepare herself. 

“Do you know what will happen if you are unable to seduce the prince?” the superintendent went on.  “Come on! You are a clever girl! What do you think will happen?”

Rey worried at her lower lip for a brief instant, before she said: 

“I will be thrown away.

\- Not only that, Rey! If you think that you will be able to return to Jakku and resume your life there, you are very mistaken!”

Rey’s eyes widened in horror and she swallowed hard, but Phasma refused to take pity on her and told her the harsh truth as it was: 

“You will be sold as a slave! And make sure that your new owner will be the cruelest that Master Snoke will be able to find”.

The two women stared into each other’s eyes and the superintendent’s blue eyes betrayed a sudden and uncharacteristic feeling of shame. It was all the confirmation that Rey needed that that's what happened to the girls who preceded her and failed in their attempts to seduce the prince. She couldn’t imagine that her hatred for Snoke could grow any fiercer, but right now, it flared like an angry fire. 

“I will be held responsible for your failure...”, Phasma remarked, as if she needed an excuse to be concerned about Rey’s fate. “...if you fail”.

That "if" proved strangely comforting and when their eyes met again, Rey knew that the superintendent believed in her, somehow, when she was herself riddled with doubt. 

“Take the rest of the day off. Try to get some rest”, Phasma concluded, and although it was late in the evening, Rey was grateful for it. 

She skipped dinner and headed directly for her bed, certain that she would fall asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. And yet, that night, she could find no rest. 

The young woman tried to avoid thinking about what the harem’s superintendent had revealed to her and especially about what had occurred during the dance lesson, but it was in vain. Every time she closed her eyes, she could see the strange waves dancing before her. It wasn’t the first time she had had such visions, but back when she lived in Jakku, it was easier for her to pretend that they were mere mirages caused by the heat. Now, she struggled to explain such occurrences. 

It didn’t help that the night was hot, stiflingly so and Rey pushed her covers away in irritation. She was convinced that despite her extreme tiredness, she wouldn’t be able to find sleep. She sat on her bed and after a short deliberation, she decided that a walk wouldn’t do her harm. 

Her legs still ached as she made her way towards the baths, but the freshness they promised compelled her to go on. She was used to going there, at night, when no one was there to disturb the quiet music of the water. The moonlight reflected brightly against the surface of the pool and as if it called to her, Rey couldn’t resist the urge to dive into it. 

She removed her clothes and folded them neatly over a bench, then went on to plunge into the water, carefully, as if it was a bit cold in contrast to the hot night air. She didn’t know how to swim and was always a bit worried when she went into the pool, but it was shallow and there was little risk of drowning. Rey even dared to let go of the edge and walked towards its center, sinking until her chin touched the surface of the water. 

She sensed she was not alone, that _he_  was watching her. 

“Rey”, her name echoed in the room but she decided to ignore him. 

It had been days since Kylo Ren had last visited her. She started suspecting that it was something he enjoyed doing, denying her for days long before reappearing without so much of an explanation. He always managed to dispel her displeasure with his caresses and to muffle her questions with his kisses, but she was growing tired of his games, of his elusiveness, and after the day she just had, he was the last person she wanted to deal with. 

She looked up and her eyes took in the beautifully decorated ceiling above her. There was enough moonlight for her to distinguish the bright intricate geometric motifs. She has always thought them dazzling, somehow hypnotic and for a moment, she lost the track of time.

The sound of a single drop interrupted her contemplation. She looked down and as a series of circular waves spread over the surface, she noticed a small dot of dark ink that quickly started spreading into the water. She should have been frightened. She should have tried to get out of the pool and avoid the growing darkness that menaced to reach her, but she didn’t. Rey just watched in calm as the water rose before her and slowly took on the shape of a man. 

The form of Kylo Ren sprang out of the water and it was as if he was standing before her in the pool. They stared at each other in silence for a long moment, none uttering a word, the sound of Rey’s breathing echoing in the baths. 

“You are mad at me”, the form of the Jinn finally acknowledged a hint of amusement coloring its voice. 

“Why would I be?” 

It was impossible to distinguish his expression when he was in this liquid form, but Rey could have sworn that she could see his smug smile.   

“I missed you”, he confessed. 

Rey wanted to ignore the way her stomach knotted at those words. She tried to ignore the feelings of relief and excitement, now that he had finally appeared to her again.

“Did you?

\- Yes”. His silhouette vanished then suddenly reemerged behind her. He whispered to her:

“I know you missed me too.

\- No, I didn’t”, she replied and her indignation seemed to amuse him.

“Liar!”

Rey scowled at his word, his overconfidence and nonchalant attitude irritating her. 

“Do you enjoy toying with my feelings, mocking me?

\- No.

\- Then why? Why do keep disappearing without an explanation? Is it all a game for you? I thought that after that night… when we kissed… I thought it meant something”. 

All the resolve left Rey as she recalled the first kiss they've shared and her anger was replaced with sadness. 

“ _Warda_ ” he called her softly, his arm reaching for her face. “Don't be sad”.

The touch of his hand was strange at first, damp and cold against her skin, but it was soft and more solid and tangible than when he appeared to her like a shadow, perhaps alarmingly so. 

“You are so cruel”, she whispered.

\- Don’t you know how hard it is for me, to know that you are not mine… that you are meant for another?” Kylo Ren replied, after a short hesitation. He was panting as if it demanded of him much effort to confess it. “I kept watching as they prepared you for him, so you could seduce him!”

The sudden anger in his voice could have frightened Rey, but oddly enough, it was actually reassuring. 

“You know I have no choice in the matter”, she reminded him and he conceded: 

“I know.

\- If it is any consolation, I don’t think I am able to seduce the prince”.

Kylo Ren didn’t react and Rey turned around to face him: 

“I know what happened to the girls who tried and failed to seduce him before me. They were condemned to slavery, weren’t they?

\- I will never allow that to happen to you!”

Rey wanted to believe that he could or that he cared enough to protect her, but she also knew better than to trust the Jinn’s words completely.

“Besides, you are nothing like those girls”, he added and she replied with a frown: 

“You told me before that I wasn’t special.

\- And you believed me?”

He laughed and moved back to better look at her. Rey felt suddenly self-conscious under his scrutiny and quickly covered herself, a blush spreading on her cheeks. 

“Your teachers are fools! Ben Solo doesn't stand a chance”. 

With those words, he was on her, forcing her to turn around and surrounding her with his arms like a snake. His hand followed the stubble line of her hip and she realized that, even under the water, she could distinctly feel his touch. With a soft push, he coaxed her to sway her pelvis lazily under the water, the same way her dance teacher taught her to. 

“Promise me, promise me you will only think of me when you will dance for him, when you will be with him”. 

A sigh was the only answer she could give. It flared his jealousy. His hand found her breast and grabbed it none too gently as he repeated through gritted teeth, his voice covering her gasp: 

“Promise me!

\- I promise”, she surrendered, a bit out of breath, as her own hand covered his.

Instead of trying to push it away as he expected her to, she surprised him by applying more pressure. She turned her head and the look of utter desire he saw in her eyes enchanted him. 

Their lips met in a hungry, desperate kiss as if their long separation had been too hard to bare. While his hand was still busy kneading her soft mound, Rey whispered into his ear:

“Don’t ever leave me again.

\- I won’t.

\- Please.

- I won’t, little flower. I promise”.

They both knew it was a lie, but they wanted to pretend that it was true.  

She guided his free hand between her legs and as she felt his cold fingers reaching her core, she jolted at the memory of his first touch, a long time ago when he came to Jakku to claim her for his master. It had felt like an aggression then, but this time it was an opportunity for her to reclaim that moment, to take control of it. She somehow felt empowered by it.  

She tried to say his name, but no sound came out of her open lips. He softly caressed her sex, delicately spreading her lips and allowing his fingers to explore her folds. She gave a start and he heard her whine when he dipped his middle finger inside her, which discouraged him to go any further, even if every fiber of his being wanted to claim her as his own. Instead, he kissed her lips again and held her close. 

Soon the sun will rise again to separate them. Soon the day will come when someone else will be holding her between his arms, but right now, they allowed themselves to be lost in their strange embrace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Like Kylo Ren, I keep disappearing for long periods to reemerge suddenly out of the blue. But unlike him, I have a reason (well kind of). These last two months had been the busiest for quite some time. Between the finals, the articles I had to write, moving houses, etc. I didn't have much time left. 
> 
> I tried to write though, but my head was filled with so many things I really couldn't. I had a writer's block, or rather, I wrote things that I consider far from satisfying and I refuse to offer something to my readers that wasn't good enough. 
> 
> Anyway, the good news is that I am done with school and that I have finished unpacking, so I have finally some time to work of my fics. 
> 
> I hope you will forgive me for the long delay. Last chapter, I promised some readers that I would be posting soon and didn't keep my word, so I am sorry for that. Besides, I kept receiving new comments and updates about the kudos by e-mail and that's what kept me motivated to continue this story and not to give up. So thank you! Thank you for your support and for being such patient and lovely readers. I will do my best to update this fic soon.


	6. The Demonstration

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Snoke and Kylo Ren pay a visit to the harem. The old sorcerer demonstrates the true extent of his control over the Jinn.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some Arab words used in this chapters: 
> 
> \- Mawlay means "My Lord"  
> \- Saiidi means "My Master"  
> \- Bakhoor is a kind of incense.

Kylo Ren knew that something was wrong when Snoke asked him to accompany him to the harem. The old sorcerer seldom set foot there. In fact, he rarely left his quarters nowadays and it hab already been strange that he would summon his apprentice to the aviary, this morning.   

When the Jinn came into the room, his master was busy reading a small piece of paper that had been brought by a carrier pigeon. With his crooked and emaciated form, the old man looked every bit like one of the birds that populated the place. His joyless cackle only reinforced that impression as his voice mixed with the volatiles’ unceasing squawking. 

“Ah, you’re here!” Snoke exclaimed when he saw Kylo Ren. “We have received word that the Prince has accosted and that he will arrive in no more than two days”. 

Kylo Ren knew what was to come next. He will be asked to leave the city and wait until Ben Solo would have left. They weren’t allowed to communicate, let alone to meet. 

There was a hawk in one of the cages, a creature fierce and proud by nature, though it had been rendered docile, a hood covering its eyes and a chain at its foot. For a split second, the Jinn saw himself reflected in it and he wished he could help the creature tear apart its restraints and fly back to its freedom. 

He was interrupted in his musing when he heard his master say: 

“I think I will visit the harem, this morning.

\- The harem, My Lord?”

Kylo Ren couldn’t hide his surprise and it seemed to amuse the sorcerer. 

“Yes! It has been some time since I paid my women a visit. I want to make sure they don’t lack for anything”.

Snoke’s tone of voice was so uncommonly cheerful that Kylo Ren had no doubt that he was mocking him. 

“You will accompany me, won’t you, my young apprentice?” 

As if he had the choice! As if he could defy him! The old man often spoke to him this way, pretending that he cared about his opinion when they both knew that the sorcerer had total control over him. It was but one of the many ways he found to humiliate him. 

“Yes, _Mawlay_!” Kylo Ren still replied, bowing his head obediently. 

Almost every fiber of his being wanted to tear apart the man before him, to twist his neck like a bird, but he couldn’t. He was trapped and the sorcerer held the key to his cage. 

The small part of his mind that wasn’t consumed by rage was turned toward the harem or rather towards one of its residents. The only one he had ever cared about.  

They left the aviary and the Jinn followed his master throughout the palace, his worry growing at every step. When they reached the door, he felt his blood freeze in his veins. He could not shake off the thought that all this had to do with Rey.

As soon as the guards opened the heavy double-door for them and they crossed the threshold, a young servant spotted them and run to fetch the superintendent Phasma for them. The tall blonde woman came quickly to meet them. She looked genuinely stupefied. 

“ _Saiidi_! We weren’t expecting you”, she said with a smile that failed to conceal her nervosity. 

Her eyes went from the old man to his apprentice in a desperate attempt to get some kind of explanation, but the Jinn was as clueless as she was. 

“It always smells so good in here”, Snoke commented. 

There was indeed a delicate sent floating around the place, a mix of flowers perfume and _bakhoor_ incense. 

“Thank you, _Saiidi_!” Phasma acknowledged with a bow, but it was all the cordial exchange they had as the sorcerer quickly came to the point. 

“I am here to see your _protégé_ ”, he explained. 

At these words, Kylo Ren struggled not to lose his composure. His lips twitched with nervosity and he swallowed hard, as his worries got confirmed. 

“My _protégé_ , My Lord?” the superintendent asked, feigning ignorance. 

“Young Rey”, Snoke elaborated. “I want to see how she is doing. If she is ready to meet the prince”.

For a moment, Phasma was lost for words. 

It was usual for Snoke to inquire about the women of the harem. He kept records of their names and particularities and demanded weekly reports about them. But never before did he bother to visit the harem and demand to verify their progress. He usually trusted his servants to take care of them and turn them into the tools he would later use in his schemes. 

“My Lord, perhaps it is a bit early. I could bring her to you later if you’d allow”, she said, clearly trying to buy some time. 

“No. Let us see her now”.

Nothing in the way he said these words sounded authoritative or menacing, and yet all color left Phasma’s face when she saw the look in his eyes. She was a survivor, and although she liked Rey, she wasn’t prepared to face Snoke’s wrath for her sake. 

“What if we sit at the garden? she suggested, a bit livid.

-  Good idea! It is such a nice day!”

Both men followed the superintendent through the harem, the few women already awake jolting at their sight. Some of them were barely dressed, obviously accustomed to an exclusively female company. They run to hide from them like startled dears. Other girls kneeled at their feet in fear as they passed them by, but none of the men paid them any attention. 

The quiet peace of the harem was torn apart like a delicate fabric at their passage until they reached the gardens where a low table had been set for them quickly under a lemon tree. Snoke, Kylo Ren, and Phasma settled over the cushions and servants brought them tea and almond cakes while they awaited Rey’s arrival. 

Either they waited for too long or not enough, Kylo Ren could not decide. He only knew that seeing her appear in an off-white tunic held at the waist by a brown leather belt that perfectly defined her delicate curves was both a torture and a true delight. 

He indeed quickly noticed that, as Rey made her way towards them, his master wasn’t looking at her but rather had his full attention on him. The Jinn did all he could to avert his eyes from the luminous creature who was approaching, fighting the pull of her beauty.

“ _Saiidi_ , how can I serve you?”, he heard her say in that voice she had deeper than one would suspect from her appearance. 

He dared to look at her again and saw that she was bowing her head in a calculated manner that made her look both elegant and vulnerable. 

“I see they have taught you how to address your masters, Young Rey”, Snoke praised, but Kylo Ren could detect the scorn in his voice. 

“She’s been working very hard, My Lord, Phasma offered.

\- Did she now? Are you looking forward to meeting the prince, Rey?

\- My only desire is to be useful to you, _Saiidi_ ”, the young woman replied.

Not once did she meet the Jinn’s gaze, or his master’s for that matter. She kept her eyes on the floor, her hands clasped in front of her and Kylo Ren was impressed by how quickly she learned to act like an obedient harem girl. 

“You want to prove yourself useful?” the old sorcerer went one after he took a sip of his tea. “What about a little demonstration?”

Rey frowned slightly before she quickly collected herself.

“A demonstration?

\- Show us what you can do? How you plan to seduce Ben Solo? Here! You can pretend that my apprentice is the prince”.

It was a cruel joke, Kylo Ren knew it. Rey didn’t know who the prince was to him, Snoke must have made sure of it. His master was mocking her and he was forced to take part in the farce.

He and Phasma shared a worried look, but when he met Rey’s eyes, he offered her a discreet smile to give her courage. She didn’t react, but he hoped that it helped her. It was all he could give her, the insurance that he was on her side. 

“I have learned how to dance, but there are no musicians that could accompany me, here”, Rey said simply. 

“Let’s pretend that you have already danced”, Snoke stated. “Let’s see what you plan to say to him?” 

He accompanied his words with a hand gesture, coaxing her to go sit next to Kylo Ren. She did as she was told, settling next to the young man. 

At first, she said nothing. She simply stared at her hands that she had on her bent knees, then she raised her head, ever so slowly, her gaze traveling from Kylo Ren’s mouth to his eyes. Her lips were slightly parted and she moved her eyelids lazily when she blinked. 

“ _Mawlay,_ ” she said, her voice barely above a whisper. “I’ve wanted to meet you, for so long”. 

“You’re going for his ego, then?” Snoke commented. “I don’t think the prince is the egotistic type, do you, Kylo Ren?” 

The Jinn didn’t reply. His attention was fully on Rey. He knew that women usually feigned innocence and vulnerability to seduce men, but he couldn’t believe how natural and genuine it felt coming from her. In her eyes, he could detect curiosity, fear, bashfulness and most of all, desire and for a second he wished they were all true, that they were all for him. 

“I have never felt anything like this for any man before you”, she went on, her face getting a bit closer to his. 

“You don’t know me. We have never met”, Kylo Ren reacted, taking part in the game. 

“I feel I have known you all my life”. 

Rey sounded out of breath when she said those words, so softly, he thought they were only meant for him. She placed her hand delicately on his tight while tilting her head in a seemingly innocent way. 

“There is nothing I want more than to please you!” 

He started feeling the heat igniting his insides as her little hand traveled from his leg up to his chest then to his neck. She softly caressed his cheek, her thumb tracing the curve of his lower lip. For a moment, he forgot that they were being watched. He leaned forward, with the clear intent to kiss her, to finally taste those lips he only knew through shared visions. 

“Pathetic!” 

Snoke’s voice broke the charm and the two lovers suddenly froze. They turned their heads to look at the old man. 

“Sincerely, Kylo Ren, I thought that after all this time you would have taught her something”. 

Panic closed on the Jinn’s mind like a vice. He knew! He knew about them!

Kylo Ren felt Rey’s hand withdrawing and when he looked at her again, in her eyes he only saw distrust. She was thinking he had betrayed her and he shook his head to make her understand that he had nothing to do with it.  

“Oh? Did you think I didn’t know?” the sorcerer laughed while standing up and advancing on his apprentice. “You seriously thought you could hide something like this from me?” 

The Jinn didn’t even try to deny it. He knew it was useless. He just stood up to face his master, hoping to divert his anger from Rey. 

“You have always been terrible at hiding your feelings”, Snoke went on. “I saw it right away, how your mood had changed since this girl arrived in the harem. She had been spotted, leaving her room at night. You have been meeting with her, didn’t you?

\- Master, she is innocent. I am the one who seduced her.

\- Did you now? Did you fuck her then?”

Phasma gasped loudly and when Kylo Ren glanced at her he saw that she was in a panic. 

“DID YOU FUCK HER?” the old man repeated, now his anger twisting his already deformed face.

“I did not!” the Jinn confessed and it seemed to slightly calm his master down. But when he spoke again, his words were dripping with viciousness. 

“Kylo Ren, when I will snap my fingers, you will experience the most intense pain you have ever felt”. 

Kylo Ren turned around to face Rey. He dreaded that she had to witness his humiliation more than the punishment itself. He barely registered the perplexed look on her face when he heard the signal. He was hit by a wave of such unadulterated, intense pain that he lost all focus. It was as if every bone in his body was being shattered, his skin ripped off his flesh, his brain pushing on his skull to break it. Every cell of his body was screaming in agony. He was being torn apart. 

He fell to his knees, desperately trying to hold the wails that tumbled from his lips. 

“Stop!” He thought he heard Rey scream. “Why are you doing this?” 

Kylo Ren painfully raised his head and saw no fear, no sadness in the young woman’s face. Instead, there was only rage. She looked deadly, implacable, and he was certain, that if she were given the chance, she would strike the old sorcerer without hesitation. 

Snoke obviously noticed it too. 

“Oh! There it is! That defiance in you that seduced him.

\- Leave him alone!” She ordered, regardless of any self-preservation.

“Rey!” Kylo Ren tried to intervene. He wanted to tell her that he could bear it, that he didn’t want her to risk herself for him, but his voice was feeble and nor she nor Snoke seemed to hear him. 

“The more you defy me, the more he will suffer”, the old sorcerer explained with exasperating calm. “If you want his suffering to end, you will have to beg me for it”. 

Maybe he expected her to refuse, or at least to hesitate, but the young woman didn’t offer him that pleasure. She was immediately on her knees, her forehead touching the floor. 

“I beg you, _Saiidi_ , to forgive Kylo Ren”, she said, loud and clear. 

Snoke snorted, unamused by her quick surrender. 

“Kylo Ren, I will snap my fingers again and you will no longer feel pain”, he declared, sounding almost bored, before snapping his bony digits a second time. 

The Jinn was freed from his pain instantly. He was left gasping for air and startled from the experience and only when he saw Snoke grab Rey’s hair did he find enough strength to get on his feet. 

“You are lucky I need you for Ben Solo. Otherwise, I would have snapped your little neck”, the old man whispered to her while tugging at her hair before pushing her away dismissively.

“You will never see each other again”, he added before turning on his heels and making his way out of the garden. 

Kylo Ren followed him, without being told to, like the faithful dog he was reduced to be. He spared one last look towards Rey and saw that Phasma was helping her get on her feet. He silently begged her to look towards him but she adamantly refused to. She denied him his goodbye. 

His master didn’t say a word to him until they came out of the harem. When he spoke to him again, he sounded somehow joyful, even after all that happened. Perhaps he thought that everything was settled between them, that his apprentice would never dare to disobey him again. 

The Jinn resented this confidence that his master had in his control over him. He stayed with him the whole day, listening to him, attending to his needs as he usually did. When the night came and it was time for Snoke to retire, he said to his apprentice: 

“You are the closest thing I have to a son, Kylo Ren. When I freed you, I knew you were the only creature deserving to inherit my knowledge. I sensed… your power! I foresaw your greatness! I wish you wouldn’t waste your potential as you do”. 

Kylo Ren didn’t say a thing. He felt his anger flaring in reaction to the old man’s hypocrisy. Still, Snoke continued, ignorant of the impact that his words had on the Jinn. 

“Your kind has always been attracted to women. It is their greatest weakness. But, somehow, I thought you were different, that you were strong enough to resist your desires. Obviously, I was mistaken. Obviously, you need my help”. 

Snoke left him on these words. 

It wasn’t the first time that he humiliated him, nor the first time that he tried to make him take the blame for the torture that he bestowed on him. The sorcerer knew how to manipulate his feelings, making him feel guilty when he was actually the victim. But tonight, it was different. He had hurt Rey. Nothing Snoke could say or do could make Kylo forgive that. 

When he came back to his room, a small space where the only items of furniture were a cot and an old chest, Kylo Ren was frantic. His mind was set up on a plan and he began searching for what he needed amongst his rare belongings. When he found it, he smiled in triumph. 

The single red stone that adorned the ring shimmered at the moonlight. He placed it in the palm of his hand. Soon, Rey will be wearing it at her finger. Soon, it will help them reunite. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> An update! Finally! 
> 
> I hope you will forgive me for the long wait. A lot of things are happening to me right now. Good things! I have a niece, now, and I am preparing to go live in Japan for a year! I am very excited. 
> 
> Thank you so much for your kudos, your comments and for all your love. You spoil me! I hope you liked this chapter. Don't hesitate to tell me what you think. 
> 
> My tumblr: lastmouseleft.tumblr.com


	7. The Redstone Ring

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey gets a gift from Kylo Ren, thanks to the help of two unlikely allies.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Arab words used in this chapter:  
> \- Kohl is a black powder used as make-up in eastern countries.  
> \- Harkous is a substance used to create temporary tattoos. What is called Henna in western countries is actually Harkous.  
> \- Warda means "rose".

The young groom was still asleep in the stable when he heard his master calling him: 

“Finn!” 

He fluttered his eyelids open and saw that it was still dark, although a line of light tinting the horizon was announcing the impending sunrise outside. 

“Finn, where are you?” 

It was never good when his master called him twice. Finn quickly came down from his hammock. When he spoke, his voice was still hoarse with sleep: 

“Good morning. Master Ren”. 

The Jinn seemed in an even fouler mood than usual.

“Prepare my horse!” 

Finn knew better than to discuss his master’s orders. He went to get the saddle and the bridle for Kylo Ren’s horse then set about getting the mount ready.

More than a year ago, when the stable boy had been told that he was assigned to Kylo Ren, he'd thought it meant his doom. Snoke’s apprentice was known for his tantrums and for running through servants like one went through a plate of dates. None stayed at his service for too long. The lucky few were dismissed. Some were never heard about again. 

Yet, somehow, Finn managed to survive. His longevity at the Jinn’s service was unprecedented. Maybe his master appreciated his discretion and his efficacity. Although, “appreciate” might not be the right word. He tolerated him, at best.  

It was a totally different story with the horse. The demon beast that Kylo Ren mounted was a barely tamed dark stallion that had failed to kill Finn more times than he could remember. He risked his life every time he tried to saddle it, the unstable red-eyed creature adamant to obey only its owner. 

Today was no exception. The horse refused to calm down, kicking its legs wildly every time Finn tried to approach it. 

“Come on”, he complained through gritted teeth. “Don’t make your master wait!” 

He eventually succeeded and got the animal out of its enclosure to bring it to the Jinn. 

Kylo Ren took the bridle from him, but he didn’t mount his horse right away. 

“Finn”, he said, sounding rather serious. “I have a task for you”. 

Finn arched his eyebrows, perplexed. He wasn’t used to seeing his master this nervous. 

“There is a girl in the harem called Rey. I want her to have this”. 

Kylo Ren showed his servant a small black bag and Finn eyed it as if it were the strangest thing he had ever seen. Never, in a million year, would he have imagined that his master would ask him to pass a gift to one of the girls in the harem. 

“I want you to find a servant that you can trust and give it to her so she can deliver it to Rey”, Kylo Ren added. “Do not lose it! If I’ll know that it didn’t get to her, I will hold you personally responsible. Have I made myself clear?”

The stable boy nodded frantically. He knew that the only way he could pay for his failure would be with his life. 

The Jinn handed him the small bag, his gaze locked on his servant’s. He threw his scarf over his shoulder to cover his mouth then climbed onto his horse, the stallion already restless, ready to depart. He had only to kick it slightly with his heel for it to start running towards their unknown destination. 

Only when the rider and his mount disappeared on the horizon was Finn able to breathe properly again. He looked at the tiny bag in his hand, and although he was curious, he resisted the temptation to see what was inside. He had a strange feeling that his master might know it if he did. He was a Jinn after all and no one really knew what those creatures were capable of. 

He tackled his task by carefully observing the servants that worked in the harem. He didn’t know them very well for they never showed an interest in him. He was at the bottom of the palace’s hierarchy, so he didn’t represent a good prospect for them and as a matter of fact, Finn didn’t have an interest in girls either. But to get his master’s gift to the girl called Rey, he had to find a servant that would prove trustworthy enough.

There was one he noticed that might correspond to what he was looking for. He watched her from afar, discreetly, and realized that she was the lonely type. She was smaller than the other girls and perhaps a bit shyer if he trusted the way she interacted with others, but she seemed to be diligent and lively. 

He approached her the next morning following his master’s departure while she was busy getting rid of some dust in the courtyard. 

“Good morning”, he hailed her and she looked at him suspiciously. 

“Good morning”, she still replied, although it sounded more like a question than a proper greeting. 

“You work at the harem, don’t you?” 

The girl nodded, but she seemed warier by the second. 

“I work at the stables, for Kylo Ren”, he went on. “Do you know him?” 

She nodded again. 

“You know he is powerful. If you do him a favor, he might reward generously”. 

She seemed unimpressed and Finn started regretting approaching her in that manner. 

“Do you know a girl called Rey?” he asked and the girl’s face seemed to illuminate when she heard that name. He was encouraged to go on: “My master wants to give her something. Do you think you are able to bring it to her?” 

The girl seemed hesitant then, against all odds, she replied: 

“Perhaps you should tell me your name first before you ask me to pass something to one of the harem’s women”. 

Finn was taken aback by how bold and how assertive she suddenly sounded. She seemed perfectly aware of the risk she would be taking if she accepted his offer. 

“I am Finn”, he conceded. “What’s yours?

\- I am Bahabeya, but everyone calls me Beebee.

\- So, Beebee. Are you willing to bring my master’s gift to Rey?

\- Only if you give me your word that you will do me a favor in return.

\- What kind of favor?

\- I don’t know yet”.

It was his turn to hesitate. He pursed his lips in deep reflection. Why did _he_ have to repay this girl for her favor? Although, if he had to be honest with himself, he actually wanted to help Kylo Ren. Knowing that the Jinn had a liking for one of the girls in the harem made him seem more human, almost likable. 

Still, he had no idea what kind of favor this small girl would ever want to ask from him. 

“You have my word”, he finally replied, deciding to worry about it later. 

Beebee lifted her arm and opened her hand, waiting until he would give her the gift. He retrieved the bag from his pocket and placed it in her open palm. 

“Don’t lose it!” he warned her, repeating what Kylo Ren had told him. “If you lose it, my master will be very angry.

\- What about you? Won’t you be angry?

\- I don’t think you will have to worry about me if it gets lost”, he said out loud before he could stop himself.

He thought he saw a smile playing at the corners of the servant’s mouth. 

“Don’t worry. I will guard it with my life”, she told him with such conviction that he was tempted to believe her. 

He saw her go inside and for a moment he feared he might have made a very bad mistake. Beebee turned out to be far from the shy girl he expected her to be and he wondered if she wasn’t somehow playing a game. 

************

Being inconsequential allowed Beebee to enjoy a certain amount of freedom. Nobody paid her any mind as she came in and out of the harem. She was small, almost dainty, and few were the people who suspected the force of her spirit. 

The residents of the harem usually ignored her. Some liked to tease her, but that’s what they often did with the servants. Boredom could turn people vicious. Rey had been one of the rare who showed her true kindness. 

One day, she came to ask her about the incense she was putting in the censers and Beebee was fond of her since. She liked to believe that Rey considered her as a friend, although she was unable to help her or truly be there for her when she really needed her. She wanted to defend her from the other harem girls who kept bullying her and gossiping about her when she wasn’t there.  But she needed to keep discreet and looking for trouble was a sure way to blow her cover. 

Beebee knew that Rey was involved with Kylo Ren, as everyone in the palace was aware now. The residents of the harem started calling her names. “The Jinn’s whore” was amongst the most popular and it pained the young servant to hear it echoing in the harem. 

When she found Rey, the young woman was busy with one of her lessons. Her teacher was reviewing with her the proper way to serve tea and Beebee had to wait a few minutes, pretending to be busy cleaning, until they were done. 

Rey’s grave expression seemed to brighten when she noticed the servant coming her way. 

“Good morning, My Lady”, Beebee greeted. 

“Please, stop calling me “my lady”. I told you many times to call me Rey”. 

There was no real anger in her words, just playful remonstrance. Beebee smiled at her and nodded. 

“I have something for you”, she whispered, leaning forward so no one could see what she had in her hand.

She swiftly gave it to Rey, as quickly and discreetly as a street magician. 

“From Kylo Ren”, she slipped into Rey’s ear, then withdrew, her expression absolutely unreadable. 

Rey, on the other hand, was stunned. She didn’t dare open her hand to see what the servant had slipped in it, fearing that someone might see it. Instead, she slipped it in her sleeve, hoping that no one had noticed the motion. 

“Thank you”, she mouthed to the young servant. 

Beebee had barely the time to reply when they both heard a commotion coming from the outside. In the room, there were two big windows covered with latticework that opened on the courtyard, but none of the two young women was quick enough to get to them to see what was happening before half the harem was agglutinated to them. 

“The prince is here! He is here”, echoed through the place and Rey thought she could no longer breath. 

She instinctively turned away from the windows and when she felt a hand on her shoulder, she jolted. Beebee was looking at her with a slight smile, something warm and reassuring as if she knew something she could not share. Somehow, it helped Rey relax a bit. It wasn’t long before she heard her name called by Phasma. 

“Rey, come here! We have to get you prepared”. 

************

For the rest of the morning and part of the afternoon, Rey was prepared to meet the prince. Servants saw to bathe her, rub down her skin in oils and soak her hair in perfume. They covered her shoulders with a golden powder that made her sneeze, to their discouragement. They dressed her in an azure diaphanous gown that trailed behind her in an expense of fabric and still managed to barely leave anything to the imagination. The hems of the sleeves were decorated with delicate golden embroidery, but she wasn’t able to properly admire them as they started making her up. 

They circled her eyes with _khol_  and applied a strange dark matter on her eyelashes that made them feel heavy when she blinked. They used a red sticky substance to color her lips and covered her freckles with a white powder. Her hands were already decorated with henna tattoos, but a servant still took time to redefine the patterns with _harkous_. 

It took hours, or at least that's how it felt to Rey before they were done with her. She still thanked them as they left her. Phasma reappeared in the room where she was being groomed. 

“Are you ready?” the superintendent asked, not bothering to comment on her looks. 

The blonde woman was still courteous to her, but she lost that warmth she usually had when she addressed Rey. Since the incident with Snoke and Kylo Ren, she kept their interactions formal. 

“I am, Rey simply replied.

- Remember what you have learned. Don’t lose your calm. Stay in control”.

It sounded as if she was preparing her for a battle, and perhaps she was. Rey knew she couldn’t share her worries with her, her desperation. She had been stricken with a deep sorrow since she and Kylo Ren had been separated by Snoke, but she let none of it show. She refused to believe that it was the end, that she would no longer be able to see the Jinn. 

She suddenly remembered the small bag that Beebee had delivered to her. Rey had managed to hide it in the room before the servants started stripping her and led her to the baths. 

“I am counting on you, Rey”, Phasma added and the young woman nodded distractedly, missing the hint of solicitude in the superintendent’s words. 

Phasma pressed her lips into a fine line, as though she was hesitating to tell her something, then she turned around and left Rey alone. 

She wasted no time. She quickly retrieved the small bag and opened it. Its content tumbled in her palm, a simple golden ring with a Redstone. 

Her breath caught in her throat as she considered the piece of jewelry. It wasn’t that it was impressive or anything. It was because it came from him. It was something that linked her to him. 

She closed her fingers around it and brought her fist to her lips, her eyelids falling close. She recalled his voice, imagined that he was whispering to her: 

“This is for you, my _Warda_.

\- Thank you”, she said to the empty room.

She heard footsteps and she knew she had to quickly hide the ring. The wise thing would have been to conceal it somewhere in the room and come back for it later, but she wanted to keep it. She felt that she needed it to give her force while she faced the prince. She couldn’t, however, wear it at her finger so everyone could see. Someone might recognize it. Instead, she slipped it under her dress, safely between the bands that covered her breasts, close to her heart. 

Soon enough, two servants came to get her. They accompanied her to the harem’s gates where at least two dozen women were already waiting. They all turned to look at Rey, some in a disdainful way, others plain out hostile.  

When the door opened, they eagerly joined the guards who were to guide them to the hall where the night’s festivities were to take place. They seemed happy to leave the harem, even for a night, expect Rey who stalled until she was the last one to come out. 

She walked behind the other girls, her heart beating at an unnaturally fast rhythm. She had been studying hard for this night, and part of her was a bit relieved that it finally came and she no longer had to go through all her tedious lessons. Still, her destiny was to be decided tonight and even she couldn’t keep her cool considering the situation. 

They arrived too quickly for her taste. The music was pouring loudly from the closed door and when they were opened before them, Rey was nearly blinded by the brightness that laid ahead. 

The reception hall was as grand as it was busy. Crystal chandeliers were hanging from the ceiling casting a bright light over the room. The guests, mostly young men, were lying comfortably over the thousand pillows scattered around the tables, enjoying the exotic fragrant food that was set before them. 

When the women came in, their attention seemed to shift instantly towards them and, as if they were executing a choreography they knew by heart, the harem girls scattered and went to sit next to the guests. 

Rey spotted Snoke, sitting at the biggest table. He seemed to notice her at the same time and ordered her to come with a flick of his hand. 

“Ah! You’re finally here!” he said to her then addressed the man who was sitting in front of him. “Prince Ben Solo, this is Rey”. 

He had his back to her, but as soon as she set eyes on him, she jolted. There was something disturbingly familiar about his figure. 

He was leaning on his elbow, nonchalantly, and when he turned his head lazily to look at her she gasped loudly, even if she tried not to. 

Her eyes widened in incomprehension as she took in his features, Kylo Ren’s features. He looked exactly like him except for a scar that marked the right side of his face. 

She met Snoke’s gaze, hoping for some kind of explanation, but the sorcerer seemed to bask in her confusion. 

“Say hello to the prince, Rey”, he told her, a wicked smile tugging at his lips. He struggled to contain his laughter.  

She swallowed hard, feeling all that rehearsed sophistication slipping away. 

“My lord”, she said feebly. “How may I serve you, tonight?” 

The prince looked exactly like Kylo Ren, but it wasn’t him, she was certain of it. She never saw these empty eyes on the Jinn. 

Ben Solo gave her a once-over, then turned his head to get another almond from the plate before them. He seemed completely uninterested and for a moment Rey thought that the battle was already lost. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What? An update, already? 
> 
> It's to thank you for being such wonderful readers! 
> 
> I know, by the way, that I promised that this fic would include more smut, but I seem to be unable to write something without a plot. Bare with me, please! 
> 
> Your comments are what fuels my muse! The more I get, the more I am likely to update sooner. It's a scientific fact!


	8. The Reluctant Prince

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey finally gets to meet Ben Solo and he proves to be more of a challenge that she expected.

There was another man sitting at the table with Snoke and Ben Solo. Rey didn’t notice him at first with her attention completely focused on the prince. Only when he spoke to her that she finally looked at him.

“Hello, Rey!” he greeted her cheerfully. “Won’t you sit with us?”

He offered her a place between him and Ben by shifting to the side.

“Thank you”, she acknowledged, still a bit shaken.

The man gave her a bright smile. He seemed confident and charming and Rey knew that his good-looks had a lot to do with that. His skin was tanned, his hair wavy and his smile, although it seemed calculated, was bright as a star.

When she sat down, Rey settled slightly closer to him than to the prince, finding him more reassuring.

“Your mother didn’t stop you from coming? Snoke asked Ben, continuing a discussion they were having before Rey showed up.

\- Oh, she tried! She seems to believe that I’m risking my life every time I come here”.

Hearing his voice was even more disconcerting for Rey for it was the same as Kylo Ren’s. The same deep voice that had been whispering sweet words in her ear at night. It felt wrong to hear it coming from another man’s mouth.

“She must know that if I wanted to kill you I would have done it by now”, the sorcerer joked in bad taste, but the prince didn’t seem to mind:

“That’s what I told her”.

The old man burst out laughing, but there wasn’t even a trace of a smile on Ben’s face. 

“You will always be welcome here, my boy!” Snoke told him while patting the prince’s shoulder as if they knew each other for a long time.

It didn’t provoke any reaction from the young man. He just took another almond from the plate in front of him and threw it in his mouth, while managing to look completely and utterly bored.

“I am Poe, by the way”, the man next to Rey said to her over the music. “Poe Dameron. You are not from here, I reckon.

\- No, I… I am from Jakku.

\- Jakku? I have been there! We both have! Isn’t Ben?

\- Hum? the prince reacted, as though he was pulled from sleep.

\- Jakku? You remember? It was quite an adventure.

\- I don’t remember”.

Rey could only appreciate Poe’s effort to lure Ben Solo into their discussion, but even for him, the prince seemed to represent a challenge.

“You have to forgive him”, Poe apologized to Rey on his companion’s behalf. “He is in a bad mood tonight”.

She nodded then brought her attention back to Ben. She was subjugated by his resemblance to Kylo Ren. She kept searching for differences, but apart from the scar, they were completely identical.

Was he a Jinn too? she wondered. 

As if he could feel her gaze on him, he turned his head to meet it.

They stared at each other in silence. She detected no emotion in his eyes and he oddly reminded her of the reptiles she used to find in the Jakku desert.

“Can I serve you tea, my prince?” she heard herself say, almost mechanically, her eyes still locked on his.

He nodded and she sighed in relief, now that he finally acknowledged her.

She grabbed the hot teapot and poured the liquid in his glass, lowering the recipient then lifting it repeatedly so it would form a foam at the surface like she had been instructed to.

The prince drank the hot beverage while still staring at her insistently. He had acted all detached at first, now he seemed intent to destabilize her with his attention. 

She would have none of that. She remembered she was here for a reason and it was not the right time for her to lose her calm.

Rey took a deep breath and with a little smile that showed her dimples, she tried to start a conversation:

“Did you have a nice trip, my prince?

\- I guess”, he replied and she could finally breathe normally again. “Although it turns out we weren’t fast enough”.

He punctuated his words with an annoyed look to Poe. She heard the prince’s companion nervous laughter which made her even more curious about what he meant.

Rey turned around to serve Poe tea this time while still speaking to Ben Solo:

“Do you travel a lot, my prince?

\- “Wander” would be a better-suited word, I believe.

\- Isn’t it the same thing?”

She was starting to fill more at ease with him, slipping into the character she had been rehearsing for weeks. She handed Poe’s the glass of tea and he rewarded her with another smile.

“Wander is what you do when you don’t have a home to go back to”, Ben elaborated which made Snoke laugh again.

Rey nearly forgot that the old sorcerer was there.

“You could stay here, my boy, Snoke offered, sounding almost sympathetic.

\- You mean like a hostage, the prince said with a snort.

\- I mean like a guest”.

The two men locked eyes and Rey finally saw the true animosity between them.

“What about the other _guest_  who lives here?

\- He needed to leave to attend to an urgent matter.

\- So he always does when I come here.

\- He is busy. You might get to see him if you extend your stay.

\- We both know I won’t”.

The tension was escalating quickly between the prince and the sorcerer and Rey felt the urge to break it. 

“You must have witnessed many wonders during your travels”, she intervened, a bit clumsily, coming back to the original subject of the discussion.

Ben turned his gaze towards her and stared at her for a long moment. She thought that he might be crossed at her, but he eventually replied: 

“Yes... Indeed”.

He sounded somehow sad when he said that, even resigned. 

Rey was smart enough to gather that Ben Solo and Snoke were talking about Kylo Ren. The prince seemed to want to meet him but the Jinn’s master refused to allow it. Why? Could it be that the prince knew a way to help Kylo Ren?

It had been her obsession since the day she witnessed the Jinn’s torture at the hands of his master. She was determined to find a way to break whatever spell that allowed the sorcerer to control his apprentice. 

The evening went on as the liquor started pouring and the sound of lascivious laughter started coming from the tables around them. 

Snoke eventually excused himself and left Rey alone with the prince and his companion. 

Poe sighed loudly when the old man was far enough not to hear him:

“Finally, he’s gone. That man sucks the fun from the room like a whirlpool.

Rey smiled at his remark, admiring his candor.

Ben, on the other hand, seemed unamused. He just lifted an eyebrow and took a sip of the strong liquor that Rey had previously served him. 

“Would you like me to dance for you, my prince?” she suggested.

Things weren’t going very well for her. She had been trying, again and again, to hold his attention, to seduce him as her teachers had been teaching her to, but it was hard to keep his focus on her. He seemed distant, preoccupied and she knew that if she didn’t do something soon, she would be unable to succeed in her task. 

She gave a quick glance at the girls around her. Some had their arms thrown around the men’s necks, some allowed their hands to roam over the guests’ bodies, others were already kissing them while sitting in their lapses. There was a heavy lustful vibe floating around the room and only the music was louder than the moans of pleasure that echoed around. 

“The real question is, Rey, do _you_ want to dance for me?”

Ben sounded a bit annoyed. Perhaps the liquor was making him even less pleasant.

“Ben, come on…”, Poe wanted to defend her, but she interrupted him:

“Yes! I do!” she said firmly.

She was determined to prove to him what she was really worth.

She didn’t wait for a reply and stood up. She walked a couple of feet from the table so she would have enough place to move and stood there, waiting for the right moment to embark on the music.

“Pretend it is Kylo Ren”, she told herself while she looked at him.

If she lowered her eyelids slightly, the image became blurry enough for her to believe that it was the Jinn and not the reluctant prince that was sitting in front of her.

The musician hit the goblet drum and her feet started moving, almost of their own accord. They drew small half circles on the floor while her hips swayed elegantly. Her arms were lifted above her head and she felt the music enveloping her, like warm water, reassuringly. 

The rhythm soon quickened and she started twirling around as if she were in a trance. It took her some time, but she had finally managed to enjoy dancing, the sensation of liberation that it procured.

She was so focused on her task that she didn’t notice the audience’s stupefied looks. Poe had his mouth open in wonderment as he followed her movements as were all the men in the room. Even the musicians had their attention on her, reduced to the role of simple accessories to her performance. The only one who continued eating while she was dancing was the prince. 

When the musicians hit their last note, Rey froze into an elegant pose, her chest heaving after the effort. She gazed at Ben Solo and saw him looking at her, a single almond between his front teeth. The dry fruit broke under the pressure of his jaw as he stared at her and she wondered, for a moment, if she would ever be able to provoke any emotion in this man.

Poe started clapping.

“Bravo!” he said. “That was truly beautiful, Rey.

\- Thank you”, she replied, slightly out of breath.

She returned to her place between the two men.

“What do you think, Ben?” Poe tried again to make his companion talk. “Isn’t she beautiful?”

The prince’s only answer was a low hum. He seemed distracted for a moment before he suddenly got on his feet.

“I think I will retire now”, he announced and Rey was suddenly in panic.

She had failed, miserably. She couldn’t seduce the prince and now Snoke would get rid of her. She would never get to see Kylo Ren again.

However, as she was starting to go through all the worst scenarios in her head, Ben leaned towards her and offered her his hand.

“Come”, he simply told her and she hesitated for a second, trying but failing to read his expression, before she took his hand. 

He led her behind him out of the hall, curious, covetous and jealous eyes following them.

As they made their way through the palace, Rey had trouble keeping up with his strides, especially in her long gown, but he didn’t seem to notice. He was eager to reach his quarters. 

When they arrived, they found a guard before the door.

“Make yourself scarce”, Ben told him, leaving no room for complaint. 

The guard seemed hesitant but the dark look that the prince gave him stirred him to leave as quickly as he could.

Ben pushed the door open and Rey followed him into the room, a vast space richly furnished and decorated that still managed to feel hollow. 

There was a table laid with food and bottles of liquor. The prince grabbed one of them and poured himself a drink while Rey stood there, awkwardly watching him. It seemed to her that he drank too much. 

He came closer and stood behind her, not helping her growing nervosity. She jolted when she felt the cold glass against the skin of her nape.

She heard him laugh, for the first time ever.

“You are sensitive”, he remarked playfully.

Now that they were alone, he proved as flirty as the men she saw in the hall earlier.

He walked around her, swallowing the rest of his liquor in one go, then stopping just in front of her.

He considered her more intently this time, his eyes lingering on the parts that her diaphanous gown let show. 

“Are you afraid of me? He asked her.

\- No, she replied, although she was terrified”.

It came to her that it was the first time she was truly alone with a man. She never considered Unkar Plutt a man, more like a disgusting creature, and all her encounters with Kylo Ren had had a dreamlike quality to them. He had been with her, but not really. It had been his reflection. But now, she was in front of a real man who, due to his position, could do anything he wanted to her. 

“Undress me, Rey”, he ordered, startling her out of her reflection.

She tried again to read his expression and she was met with a mischievous smile that, she had to confess, rather suited the prince.

He waited until she took a step closer to him and startled unfastening the laces that kept his tunic closed. This close, she could see the details of the fabric, a deep burgundy velour decorated with fine embroidery the like of which she had never seen before. She tried to focus on the patterns and to ignore Ben’s insistent gaze.

When she was done with the laces, she opened his tunic and was faced with the expanse of his muscular chest. 

Her eyes widened and she bashfully diverted her eyes which seemed to amuse the prince greatly. He lifted his arms so she could remove his tunic completely and he soon was standing there, before her, bare-chested.

She felt the heat spreading on her face but she managed to blush even more when she heard him say:

“Kiss me”.

She looked into his eyes and saw how much he enjoyed her embarrassment. It somehow affected her pride and she decided she had to wipe that smug look from his face.

Rey placed her hands over the prince’s cheeks and slowly lifted herself on her tiptoes. She intently took her time bringing her face closer to his, her eyelids falling the closer she got. 

When their lips met, she felt a tremor traverse her body. The first thought that came to her was that his lips tasted bitter, because of the alcohol, and that they were soft, very soft. It didn’t feel at all like kissing Kylo Ren.

The prince wasted no time taking control. He cradled the back of her head, bringing her closer to him. His lips started moving and she could not help but moan deeply at the strange sensation that they procured. She mimicked him and their kiss quickly grew torrid. 

Heat started pooling at Rey’s core. It fell like hot droplets between her legs. 

She felt his tongue probing at the seam of her mouth and she parted her lips slightly to allow him entrance. 

He immediately took the opportunity to explore her mouth, his tongue going over and under hers in an expert manner. She felt her legs shaking. She was turning into a liquid mass and despite the pleasure that it procured her, she felt the urge to stop their embrace.

Rey took a deep breath when their lips parted. The prince’s looked red and swollen, but he seemed content.

“You are shy”, he remarked. 

That’s how he explained to himself her reluctance to continue their kiss. He had no idea that Rey was feeling bad for betraying Kylo Ren.

She didn’t think she would feel like that. Guilt was an unwelcome feeling if she wanted to survive, but somehow, it pained her to offer herself like this to another man. 

“I like your voice”, Ben whispered in her ear, sending shivers down her spine.

She couldn’t tell if she enjoyed or hated his remark.

“Say something, he demanded as he started caressing her face fondly.

\- What do you want me to say, my prince?

\- Tell me: do you like me? Do you find me handsome?

\- Yes”.

She had no difficulty answering that. She did find him handsome of course, but she detected irony in the way he asked her. He obviously didn’t share her opinion.

“Are you innocent? He inquired.

\- Yes.

\- Do you want me to teach you how to please a man?”

Rey felt her insides twisting at his words, but it was an oddly agreeable sensation as if her body was now curious for what was to come, fear and guilt withdrawing to the back of her mind.

“Or perhaps you would like me to please you?”

The prince illustrated his words by pinching her nipple through the fabric of her gown. She whimpered at the sharp feeling. She hadn’t noticed that her nipples had become so hard and that they were showing through her garment.

“Yes”, Ben hissed like a seductive serpent. “I know you would like that”.

Rey realized that things weren’t going as she intended them to, that she was the one who was being seduced and not the other way around. 

The prince captured her gaze with his intense hungry eyes while he grabbed the hem of her gown and swiftly brought it down her arms, positively binding her. She gasped in surprise but it didn’t slow him down. He attacked the bands that were covering her breasts and started unfolding them.

Suddenly, they both heard the noise of something falling on the floor. They looked down and saw Kylo Ren’s Redstone ring laying there.

The prince’s reaction was as unexpected as it was fierce. He stooped to get the piece of jewelry and considered it with utter shock.

“Where did you get this?” he asked through gritted teeth.

Rey didn’t answer. She struggled to understand what was happening. She covered herself with her arms, the lustful mood between them now completely gone.

“Who gave it to you? He insisted. Who?”

He startled her by putting the ring just in front of her face

“This! This is mine!”

He yelled at her as if he believed she had stolen it. Anger flared inside Rey and she replied with indignation:

“It was given to me!

\- By whom? Who gave it to you?

\- Someone I care about”.

Rey saw the moment when he finally realized what she meant. His anger seemed to fade away, replaced with bitter disappointment. 

“He gave it to you”, he whispered more to himself than to Rey.

For a short moment, she felt so sorry for him that she wanted to apologize, but she knew she had done nothing wrong. The prince was still holding the ring and she needed to get it back.

She tried to take it from him, but he lifted his arm, putting it out of her reach. 

“Why? He asked her.

\- Why what?

\- Why did he give it to you?

\- I don’t know!”

She was growing annoyed, tired of trying, again and again, to reach the ring with one hand, while holding her gown with the other. She eventually gave up on decency and let her garment fall at her feet. She was left in her undergarments, pulling at the prince’s arm to get the ring back.

“Give it back!” she demanded, but he ignored her, pulling his arm even higher up, nearly lifting her off the ground.

“I told you it is mine”, he just said, his voice flat, emotionless.

“No!” she screamed. “It is Kylo Ren’s! He gave it to me!

\- He had no right to give it to you.

\- No, please! Give it back!”

She tried and tried again to reach it, jumping, climbing at him, until he grew tired and he pushed her away.

“Are you lovers? Ben asked, apathetically.

\- Snoke wouldn’t allow it”, she revealed, perhaps in an attempt to provoke compassion. “We are forbidden to see each other.

\- That makes two of us, then”.

Ben looked at the ring then added:

“He gave you the last thing he had left of me. Like it meant nothing to him”.

Rey didn’t know what to reply to that. She didn’t know what kind of relationship Ben and Kylo shared. She reckoned they were brothers but she sensed that there was more to it.

“They didn’t tell you, didn’t they, who I was to Kylo Ren?” the prince asked, still examining the ring. “What we are to one another?”

Rey shook her head. She was still considering snatching the ring from the prince, but she also wanted to know what he meant.

“Kylo and I used to be the same person before the sorcerer separated us”.

Rey thought for a moment that the prince was insane. She never heard of such a thing before, but then again, a few months earlier, she didn’t know that Jinns really existed. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And another update! It's because you are so wonderful! 
> 
> I started writing the last chapter and couldn't stop, and as I finished it, why not post it right away. 
> 
> Tell me what you think about Ben Solo. I didn't want to go with the usual "Kylo Ren is the bad boy, Ben is the nice guy" type of story I usually read in Breylo fics. It's not that I don't enjoy them, but why follow the same path when such good writers already have? 
> 
> Now I have to update my other on-going fics (Good grief! I need to stop creating new stories before I finish my WIP, don't I?).


	9. The prince who had two shadows

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The story of Ben Solo.

There once was a prince born to the oddest couple that the Eastern Lands had ever seen. His mother was a princess who preferred swords to jewels and justice to power. His father was a smuggler who obeyed no law but his own. 

They were allies during the war. They fought together, along with the princess’ long lost brother against the dark emperor who ruled the region. 

The princess and the scoundrel were both strong-willed and stubborn, but they somehow made each other happy. They fell in love amidst the chaos of the war and as soon as the emperor was defeated, they decided to marry. 

Soon, they were blessed with a son. They called him Ben. He brought much happiness to his parents but also to the inhabitants of the Eastern Lands who after years of tyranny saw in his birth the beginning of an era of peace and prosperity. 

The princess was particularly enamored with her child. She loved him so much that she spent most of her time with him and started neglecting her husband. The smuggler still could not blame her. He could see that the mother and her son had a special connection that he perhaps could never understand. 

The princess’ happiness was almost complete if it wasn’t for the fact that her brother had never seen his nephew. 

The prince’s uncle was a powerful sorcerer. There weren’t many magic wielders left after the war and he made it his mission to roam the Eastern lands searching for disciples he could initiate in the arts of magic. 

No one knew where he was or how to reach him. Nearly two years went by before he eventually came to visit his sister and his friend, the smuggler. 

They welcomed him with such joy and enthusiasm, the sorcerer felt the happiest he had been for months. He had an eager smile that didn’t leave his lips, up until he set eyes on his nephew. 

When Ben was brought to him, the sorcerer froze. He considered the young boy with apparent dread and the princess didn’t fail to notice it. 

“What is it?” she asked in alarm. 

The sorcerer tried to dodge her question. He pretended that it was nothing important, but she wasn’t easily persuaded. She insisted he would tell her, even if she apprehended what he had to say. 

Seeing how distressed she was and knowing that concealing the truth from her would do nothing to comfort her, he surrendered to her pleas. 

“Leia, he called her name gently. Your son is possessed”. 

The princess laughed. That was the only way she could react to such an absurd claim. 

“You must be mistaken! I know my son. He is not possessed”. 

There was no doubt in her mind that her brother was wrong, but she started worrying when she saw the way he looked at her as if he was pitying her. 

“Leia, he called again and this time his soft tone irritated her. Your love for your son has blinded you. Can’t you see? He has two shadows”. 

That’s absurd!  she wanted to yell, but when she turned her head to look at her son, the illusion was suddenly shattered. 

The little boy was running happily in the garden trailing behind him a dark shadow and another slightly lighter one. 

The princess covered her mouth to muffle the scream of terror that escaped her lips. She swallowed hard, denying herself the right to cry. 

“No! She said, in a trembling yet determined voice. It cannot be! My son is not possessed! I would have never let it happen.

\- It is not your fault.

\- No! My son is…”

She felt the ground falling under her feet. She collapsed, her brother barely catching her before she touched the ground. 

The prince stopped playing and watched as his mother was brought inside their house. 

“Mommy? he called, but no one replied”. 

Even in his young heart, he could sense that something important had happened. 

It was only years later that Ben was told the truth about his strange condition. 

Already, at a very young age, he came to notice that he was different from everybody else. No other child, nor adult for that matter, cast two shadows when they were in the sun like him. They didn’t have a voice talking to them in their heads either, but he had managed to keep that a secret from anybody. 

Despite that, he grew up to be a healthy and strong boy. He excelled at physical activities and had a bright mind that destined him to be a great leader one day. But he could sense that his parents weren’t happy and he thought that it was his fault. 

When his uncle came to visit again, Ben was already fifteen. His mother invited him to dine with her and her brother alone and he knew that what they had to say to him was important. 

“Ben, said his mother with a smile that was at once sad and warm. Luke is here to take you with him”. 

The prince took the news with a calm that was uncharacteristic of his age. 

“I have to leave, he stated dispassionately.

\- You have something inside you, Ben, his uncle pointed out. A great power. You must learn to control it.

\- Is it why… I am different?”

The brother and sister shared a look that revealed their unease. 

“Yes, the sorcerer conceded.

\- What is it that I have inside me? I noticed that you don’t have two shadows. It is not something that sorcerers normally have”.

His mother looked a bit alarmed, but her brother placed a reassuring hand over hers and nodded. 

“You are right. It is not a sorcerer’s prerogative, his uncle explained. Ben, what you have inside you is a Jinn.

\- A Jinn? The prince exclaimed, wrinkling his nose in surprise. I thought they were a myth.

\- They exist, Ben. They were once the masters of this earth, but most of them perished and they are now few and scattered throughout the world.

\- How can you know that it’s Jinn that is inside of me?

\- I have read it in an ancient book. I knew that a Jinn had possessed you the moment I saw you.

\- What is going to happen to me?”

The sorcerer fell silent for a long moment. Clearly, what he was going to say deeply troubled him. Still, Ben felt no fear. He just wanted to know the truth. Perhaps, he was convinced that whatever creature lived inside him didn’t want to harm him.

“Jinns, when they possess a mortal, usually manifest their presence by causing illnesses or fits of hysteria, the sorcerer started explaining solemnly as if he were giving a lecture. If they are not removed, they start feeding on their hosts’ spirits until there is nothing left of them.

\- So, they can be removed! The princess interjected”.

Her desperate hope was painful to witness, so was the way she deflated when her brother replied: 

“Yes. But no one knows how anymore”. 

A heavy silence fell between them, only broken by Ben’s following questions: 

“Why do I have to leave? How will it help me?

\- Magic runs in our family. If you have indeed a gift, like I suspect it, and learn how to master it, you might be able to control the Jinn that is inside you”.

The prince looked at his mother and saw that her eyes were shimmering with unshaded tears. He knew that she suffered to let him go, but he somehow hoped that she would tell him so. He wished that she would tell him that she loved him and try to stop him from leaving, but she didn’t. 

His father didn’t even show up to say goodbye. 

Ben’s became one of his uncle’s apprentices. Although he was surrendered by students his age, he never really felt any connection to them. He felt different and isolated. He was alone. 

He tried to get closer to his uncle. The prince wanted to please him. He worked hard, the hardest, to impress him, but the sorcerer was solitary. He never forged a relationship deeper than a teacher and a student’s with his nephew.

A few years went by and the prince proved that he was a worthy heir to his family’s mighty blood. His predisposition to magic revealed to be exceptional and he seemed predestined to become a great sorcerer like his uncle. But something was happening to his soul. 

The sadder and lonelier he felt, the louder the voice inside of him became.

“You are not alone, it said to him. I am here with you”.

It was soft and reassuring. It sounded benevolent and although he knew perfectly well whom it was, he didn’t want to fight it. In the darkness of his room, it was the only thing that kept him company.

“Yes, I know who you are, he would reply to it. I know you won’t hurt me.

\- I would never hurt you, Ben. We are the same person.

\- Yes. The same”.

Ben would fall asleep, peacefully, knowing that at least someone in this world cared for him. 

Sometimes, news about his parents would reach him. His mother was apparently fighting a new threat in the person of a sorcerer called Snoke. It was said that he had appeared from nowhere and started conquering more and more territories. 

The prince’s uncle seemed troubled by this news, but he wasn’t keen to interfere in his sister’s political affairs. The war had left a deep impact on him and he was adamant that his fighting days were over. Besides, Ben suspected that the sorcerer always feared to become the tyrant that his powers were susceptible turn him into. 

The prince, now a young man, expressed his desire to go visit his family. After years of separation, he looked forward to seeing his parents again, but when he arrived home, his father wasn’t there. His mother, however, was eager to welcome him back. 

She showered him with kisses, embarrassing him in front of everyone. Still, he indulged her and lifted her between his arms, for he was now much taller than she was. 

They spent a few days together. Ben was happy to be with his mother, but he still felt that things had changed. They could no longer pretend that he was a little boy and they didn’t really know how to act around each other. Yet, the prince hoped that with time they would rekindle the kind of familiarity they used to share. However, they never did get the time. 

The prince suddenly fell ill. He was hit by some mysterious ailment that no one could identify. No one but his mother who became convinced that it was the Jinn’s doing. 

She called for physicians and wise men from around the country, but none could cure the prince. She sent for her brother, but he never replied. She grew desperate and became convinced that she would lose her son. 

Soon after, a letter came for her. It was from Snoke. It told her that he knew about the prince’s situation and that he knew how to help him. 

Her own enemy was offering to save her son. The offer reeked of malice. She knew that the price would be high, but the princess always blamed herself for Ben’s condition and decided that she wouldn’t sacrifice his well-being for political reasons. 

She invited the dark sorcerer to visit her residence and he was all too eager to respond. He wasted no time to pose his conditions: 

“The end of the Resistance”. 

He savored those words as he pronounced them with delight. 

“And you would cure my son?

\- I will not only cure your son. I will free him of the spirit that is devouring him from the inside”.

Leia was faced with the hardest of choices, but love made one as selfish as much as they made them naive. She agreed too quickly to the sorcerer’s demands, unaware of the terrible consequences. 

After days of being unconscious, Ben finally woke up from his feverish torpor. The first thing he felt was a terrible emptiness at the pit of his stomach, then a void. Something intangible that still felt crushingly real. 

His mother was sitting by his bed. She laughed in relief when he opened his eyes. 

“Ben! she exclaimed, placing a kiss on his forehead.

\- What happened? he murmured.

\- You are alright. You are free now”.

At those words, he realized what had happened. His eyes widened in horror and as his mother tried to take him in her arms, he pushed her away, something he had never done before. 

“What have you done? he asked her and his voice sounded demented to his own ears”.

He stormed out of the room. Pushed by an inexplicable premonition, he ran towards the courtyard. His legs felt heavy. He had trouble breathing, yet he knew he had to reach it before it was too late. 

He finally saw him. He was getting on a horse to follow an old crooked man dressed in ridiculously ostentatious clothes. 

“Wait! Ben screamed and the Jinn stopped”. 

He turned around and the prince saw that he had his face. 

“Don’t leave me, Ben said, ignoring the old man’s angry look. His eyes were fixed only on his doppelganger.

\- I cannot, the Jinn said, sending a shiver down the prince’s spine. He had never heard that voice before outside of his head”.

Ben had so many questions, so many things to say. He took a few steps towards the Jinn.

His mother arrived and shouted his name. He ignored her plea. 

“I don’t know your name, he said.

\- Kylo Ren, the Jinn replied.

\- Promise me, Kylo Ren! Promise me that one day we will be reunited!”

The Jinn looked sad, somehow resigned. 

“I promise, he said, only for Ben to hear him”. 

They embraced, like two brothers who were forced to separate. They heard both the old man and the princess shouting their names, disapprovingly. 

“Don’t forget me, Ben pleaded, discreetly giving a ring he had been wearing around his finger to Kylo Ren.

\- I won’t forget you”.

The Jinn turned his back to the prince, his long dark cape flapping behind him, and he swiftly got on his horse. He went to join his new master and they left without giving another glance behind. 

Since the Jinn was gone, the prince became someone completely different. He became cold, dispassionate and yet prone to anger. He had always been reserved, but he was now completely withdrawn. 

His mother realized that instead of saving him, she had irreparably hurt him. 

“I feel… incomplete, he confessed to her one day as she tried to comfort him”. 

She tried to convince him to go back to his uncle, hoping that he would know how to help him, but he refused to do so. 

He often talked about the Jinn. He spoke of him like a lost friend.  

“Forget him! Please, forget him!” 

The more she tried to convince him to let go, the more distant he became. 

She knew she lost him when he told her that he was going to leave and look for the Jinn. She knew that he would never come back. 

For eleven years, he tried to be reunited with Kylo Ren. Snoke often invited him to visit the capital of his new kingdom but never allowing them to meet. Ben knew that he was mocking him, that the sadistic sorcerer reveled in torturing him. It was his way to get his revenge on the prince’s family who stood up to him during his conquests. 

Still, Ben persisted. He knew that he and Kylo Ren would be together again. He was certain of it… until the night he met _her_. 


	10. The Cage

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey's first encounter with Ben Solo didn't go expected. She is convinced that she will be kicked out of the harem, but the prince is nothing if unpredictable.

Ben watched as his revelation transformed Rey’s delicate face into a mask of confusion. He could see that her mind was struggling to admit that it was true. 

Some cruel part of him enjoyed seeing her so troubled. 

“How?" The word fell from her parted lips. 

Instead of answering her question, he let his eyes roam over her semi-naked body. His cold scrutiny seemed to disturb her as well as his own state of undress, judging by the way she was avoiding to look at him. 

She stooped to get her dress from the floor and clumsily tried to cover herself. 

He snorted, mocking her bashfulness when she had allowed him to kiss her and touch her not so long before. 

He turned his back to her and went to pour himself another glass of that strong liquor that burned his insides. He hoped that it might elevate some of his growing frustration. He drank it in one chug, then cleaned his mouth with the back of his hand. 

“You know? The girl he introduced to me before you?" he said without any kind of introduction. "She had blond hair”. 

He turned around, slowly, until he was facing Rey again, but as he continued talking, he seemed distant, as if she weren’t there. 

“She had green eyes and her skin felt cold. So cold. No matter how much I kissed her”. 

He fell silent and Rey’s frown deepened the longer the silence persisted. Suddenly, the prince added in a more frenetic tone: 

“Every time I come here, your master introduces me to a new girl. Every time, a different one. Do you know why?” 

Rey shook her head, slowly, prudently, as if he were a dangerous beast that mustn’t be provoked.  

“That’s what he does! It is his way of mocking me! He knows that I am here for Kylo Ren, yet he keeps him away from me. Instead, he treats me like any other brainless guest who comes to this wretched place”. 

His growing anger was reflected by the young woman’s troubled expression. 

When he came closer, her alarm was evident, still, she did not move away. She avoided to meet his eyes, but he felt that there was defiance in her, that she refused to be intimidated. 

He had sensed her rebellious spirit the moment he had set his eyes on her. Perhaps, that’s why he had brought her to his room.

“Did your master think that because Kylo Ren has shown… _interest_ for you, I would fall for you?" he laughed derisively. "As if I could be this foolish. As if I would fall for one of his whores”. 

 Rey lifted her head and when their eyes met, Ben could see the anger that flared inside of her. 

“I am not a whore!" she said furiously through gritted teeth.

"Weren’t you trying to seduce me? You were prepared to let me fuck you, just because he told you to.

\- I had no choice!

\- Of course, you didn’t.

\- None of us has the choice. You are quick to judge, but you don’t know what it is to live in the harem, to be shaped and modeled into something that we are not, just to please you. Have you ever wondered what happened to the girls who were introduced to you after you were gone? Have you ever cared?”

She was right. Ben realized that he had never bothered to ask himself the question. Now that he thought about it, he noticed that he had never seen the same girl twice. 

“What happens to them?" he asked, but his question, the detached way in which he said it, only managed to make her angrier.

"How can you be so selfish? Have you no heart?”

Rey’s insults, though he had heard them many times before, were thrown at him with so much passion that they hit him with force. 

“You know nothing about me", he said to her, breathing deeply in an attempt to master his nerves.

"You might look like Kylo Ren, but you are nothing like him. You live the life of a prince when he has to be Snoke’s slave. Did you know that man tortures him and forces him to do his bidding? Yet, you do nothing to help him”.

Ben was shocked by Rey’s accusation. 

“I do! I want to help him, but Snoke won’t allow it!

\- And yet, you eat at his table and sleep with his girls. If I am a whore, what does that make you?”

He received that like a slap to the face. Even she seemed stunned by the violence of her words. 

They stood there, frozen for a few seconds until Ben heard himself murmur,  “Leave”. 

There was no mistaken Rey’s sudden distress and the princess did not know if it was because she regretted what she said or because she was afraid of what would happen to her. In his anger, he did not care. 

“I am sorry! I didn’t mean it.

\- I said LEAVE! he yelled and the room trembled with the force of his rage”.

She looked at him, her eyes full of an emotion he could only interpret as pity before she turned on her hills and quickly left the room. 

As soon as the door shut behind her, he took a glass and threw it against the wall with a scream. It did nothing to calm him. 

He screamed, toppled the table. The bottles of alcohol and the glasses shattered on the floor. He went to get his sword. He unsheathed it and went to gut the bed and the pillows. The feathers flew around him, slowly falling on the floor in a quiet dance that seemed to mock him. He attacked the curtains and as the moonlight penetrated in the room, drowning the dim light produced by the lamps, he let himself fall on his knees. 

Ben felt his head spinning. His stomach was struggling painfully to digest the amount of alcohol he had forced into it. He felt silly, childish, sick. He felt miserable. 

He looked down at his hand and saw the ring. He didn’t recall putting it around his finger. 

“Did you forget me?" he whispered in the night’s silence, but there was no reply. 

**********************

Rey heard a horrible scream that was as frightening as it was pitiful coming from the prince’s room. For a moment she considered going back inside. But it was too late now. She knew that she had failed and that her destiny was sealed. 

The palace was quiet as she walked towards the Harem. The thought crossed her mind that she could escape, but where to go. 

She could try to go back to Jakku. Even though she didn’t know the way, she trusted her surviving instincts to get her there. Snoke’s guards were however bound to find her before she could reach her homeland. Perhaps, even before she even left the capital.

Maybe, she could go elsewhere. Maybe, she could try to find Kylo Ren, wherever he was...

Before she could elaborate on that thought, she saw two guards coming from the opposite side of the corridor. They spotted her before she could react. She was still half naked, but the way they looked at her as they approached didn’t betray any emotion. 

“Let me escort you back”, one of them said, not even asking for an explanation why she was roaming the palace alone at night. 

They were probably used to meeting girls going back to the harem after they were done _entertaining_ their guests. She wondered why none of these girls ever tried to escape and it occurred to her that it wasn’t just the walls of the harem that held them prisoners. 

The guard and Rey walked in silence and the distance seemed impossibly long. Her feet felt heavy, but as soon as she saw the harem’s doors, she experienced a strange sense of relief. 

When she went inside, the familiarity of the place felt disturbingly reassuring. Rey almost panicked when she realized that the harem had become her new home.

She wouldn’t have to worry about that for too long though if Phasma’s warning was to be believed. Snoke would get rid of her as soon as he would know what happened with the prince and she reckoned that he would take satisfaction in doing so. 

It was still dark outside, but Rey knew she would not find any sleep. She avoided the dorm and instead made her way for the window she usually sat by to watch the courtyard. 

Her foolish heart wished that she could see Kylo Ren one last time coming back to the palace on his fiery steed. 

Would he come to look for her if she was sold into slavery? Would he try to save her? 

How could he? He was a slave himself. 

It pained her to think that she wouldn’t be able to help him like she had promised herself to. 

She thought about the fleeting moments they had shared, about the way he kissed her and touched her. She imagined his fingers, his lips, his tongue. 

She jolted when she realized that it was no longer Kylo she was imagining, but the prince. 

Resentment tinted her thoughts. She recalled the events of the night, the things that she and Ben had said to each other. She decided that she didn’t regret what she told him. It was clear to her that she was bound to fail from the beginning, that there was no way for them to get along. 

And yet, for a moment there, they almost…

Rey shook her head. She refused to let herself indulge in such fantasies. It was a good thing that they were interrupted. The prince was obviously a horrible man. 

For the rest of the night, she tried to understand what Ben Solo meant when he said that he and Kylo Ren used to be the same person. Was Snoke this powerful a sorcerer that he could split a person in half? She tried to draw from her memory the many strange tales she used to hear in the desert. If the Jinns turned out to be real, maybe a story that used to sound impossible to her would help her understand the truth behind the prince’s claim. 

As the first rays of light started to pour from the latticework of the windows, the harem slowly came back to life around Rey. The servants usually were the first to wake up and as they busied themselves around her, setting up tables for breakfast, she noticed their curious looks. She ignored them, hoping to enjoy some last moments of peace. 

“Rey?” she heard a shy voice calling her. 

Rey slowly looked around and saw her servant friend standing beside her and looking at her with concern. It seemed that the young girl had picked on Rey’s gloom. 

“Beebee", she acknowledged with a forced smile that looked more sad than reassuring.

"What’s wrong? What happened?" The servant asked, tilting her head in an adorable way.

"Nothing… nothing happened”.

Beebee twisted her mouth and frowned in deep reflection: 

“Did the prince do something to you?” 

So the servants knew that she had been with him last night. Rumors traveled very fast in the palace, indeed. 

Rey shook her head and Beebee sighed in relief. She took a step closer towards Rey and whispered to her with a knowing smile:

“He can be difficult sometimes”. 

Rey lifted her eyebrows in surprise. 

“How…” she started to say, then quickly shut her mouth. 

She realized that Beebee had just revealed something to her, something important and perhaps even dangerous, and that it was better to avoid discussing it right now, while they were surrounded by so many ears.

“Would you like some _kahwa_ , My Lady?” Beebee asked when another servant came too close.   and Rey couldn’t help but feel impressed by how easily the young girl slipped back into her shy persona.

The young woman nodded while staring dumbfoundedly at the servant. Beebee skipped joyfully towards one of the tables and came back with a cup of black coffee. 

“For you, My Lady. Nothing better to start the day”, she declared with a warm smile.

Rey drank from the cup and although the liquid was scorching hot, she welcomed its bitter and invigorating taste.

The harem’s residents started waking up. They came out of their rooms, some heading for the baths, others ready to fill their stomachs with the delicious food the servants had brought for them. 

The girls who noticed Rey’s presence considered her with barely concealed curiosity. Their covetous eyes longed to discover the tale of her night with the prince behind her impassible expression. 

Instead of avoiding their company, as she usually did, Rey went to sit with them. She’d had enough of feeling sorry for herself. She decided she wouldn’t spend what was perhaps her last day in the harem worrying about what was going to happen to her. She had survived all those years in the desert of Jakku. She would survive this. 

The girls tried to make her talk, but she only spared a few details that were vague enough for them to interpreted as they wanted. Some seemed impressed, many looked jealous and hostile. None seemed to suspect what had really happened, though, and Rey mused on how easy it was to bend the truth. 

She ate with appetite. She bit on a big piece of orange-flavored cake and as she chewed her food in a rather inelegant way, she saw Phasma come into the hall. 

Her breath caught in her throat. She really thought she would have more time before the superintendent came to fetch her. 

“Rey, come here, the statuesque woman called her”. 

All eyes were on her now. The young woman managed to swallow her food without choking before getting on her feet and following Phasma towards one of the inside courtyards. 

They sat on an earthenware bench and the moments before the superintendent spoke felt like true torture to Rey. 

“This is for you”, Phasma told her, offering her a blue lacquered box. 

Rey’s mouth fell open in surprise. She was certainly not expecting this. 

“What is it? she asked, lifting one of her eyebrows.

\- It’s a gift", the superintendent explained patiently. "From the prince.

\- The prince?

\- You seem surprised!”

Rey opened her mouth, then closed it again when she realized that she was lost for words. She opened the lid and revealed the set of jewelry that was inside. There was a golden necklace, a pair of long earrings and a headpiece all set with lavish lapis lazuli. She had rarely seen something so precious or so refined. 

The prince was giving her this? What kind of twisted joke was this? 

She closed the lid violently and Phasma didn’t fail to notice her reaction. 

“What is it, Rey?

\- I cannot accept this.

\- Why not?

\- I don’t understand why the prince is giving it to me.

\- He likes you. He wants to see you again.

\- I don’t understand!”

Phasma seemed suddenly out of patience. She took a deep breath and spoke slowly as if she had to explain something to someone dim-witted: 

“Rey. Whatever you did yesterday has worked. The prince has demanded that you would entertain him again tonight”.

The young woman refrained from saying more. She looked down at the box, wondering if this was somehow a strange way that Ben Solo has found to punish her. 

*********************

Rey was starting to feel the effects of sleep deprivation. When she lived in the desert, she could go for days with barely any sleep. Sometimes she had some strange hallucinations. She could see what was not meant to be seen or touch what was not meant to be touched. That barely happened since she started living in the harem, apart from that time when she thought she could see the music during one of her dance lessons. 

Tonight, she hoped that she would be spared such an experience. She needed all her senses if she wanted to face the prince again. 

She had to get through another bathing, dressing and making up session at the hands of the servants. One of them brought her the set of jewelry that Phasma had given her earlier, but Rey was reluctant to wear it. 

“But you must wear it, the girl pleaded. The prince would surely be disappointed if you didn’t”. 

All her fellow servants seemed to agree and Rey had to comply. 

“Just the necklace then”. 

The girl ignored her request and placed the headpiece over Rey’s head. It was a small chain from which dangled little stones of Lapis Lazuli. 

The necklace was more ostentatious. It was made of a chain and three large triangles engraved with intricate patterns and covered in precious stone that made it incredibly heavy to wear. 

Rey was spared the earrings though. Her ears weren’t pierced. 

She was the only girl to leave the harem tonight. As she followed the guard escorting her to what she assumed was the dining hall, she came to appreciate the lightness of her new dress. It was a grey mousseline gown cinched at the waist by a large white belt. She liked how simple it was, how easily she could move in it. She didn’t notice how revealing it actually was, having barely had the opportunity to see her own reflection. 

The guard brought her to a room she had never been to before. It was smaller than yesterday’s grand hall, but it was as - or perhaps even more- impressive. It was a circular room. The walls were covered in frescoes and beautiful latticework that made it somehow look like a giant bird's cage. Rey looked up at the ceiling and saw that it was made of an intricate web of tree branches that gave her the impression that she was in a forest. Or at least, that’s what she imagined a forest would look like for she had never been to a real one.  

The room was dimly lit, adding to the eerie atmosphere that inhabited the place. From where she stood, the two men who were sitting in the room looked like shadows, but she still could easily tell who they were at their unmistakable postures. 

The prince and the Supreme Leader were busy enjoying the rich dishes that were displayed before them when they noticed Rey standing at the entrance. 

“Come in, girl. What are you doing standing there?" Snoke said to her in an almost sympathetic tone. 

Rey stepped towards them and saw that they were each sitting on an individual bench and that there wasn’t any space for her. Maybe she was supposed to sit on the floor. 

Ben, without really looking at her, shifted slightly to make space for her next to him. 

She hesitated. The floor seemed like a better option. 

Suddenly, the prince took her hand and forced her to sit next to him. The bench was clearly too small for both of them and she had to sit really close to him to keep her balance. She tried to keep as much distance between them as she could but all her efforts went to waste when he put his arm around her waist and roughly brought her closer against him. 

“I missed you. Did you miss me?" he whispered in her ear and she heard Snoke laugh in amusement. 

This was the kind of twisted sophisticated kind of torture that Rey could never have conceived. There she was, forced to be with the two men she hated the most. If Unkar Plutt was there, she would have hit the perfect trifecta. 

“Yes, _Mawlay_ , she eventually replied, when the silence became too heavy, but she said it in the coldest, flattest way she could.

\- I see you’ve received my gift", the prince said, delicately caressing the necklace. "But you didn’t wear the earrings.

\- My ears are not pierced", she explained.

"We will get them pierced!" Snoke provided, sending a cold tremor down Rey’s spine.

The prince snorted, but she felt a slight pressure of his hand against her side that felt almost reassuring. 

“Will you feed me?" he asked her and she could not help a loud intake of breath in reaction.

"Yes, _Mawlay"_ , she agreed, quickly.

She could feel the sorcerer’s eyes on them like a bird of prey. 

She reached for one of the plates. There were lots of choices: Roasted bird, slices of bread, cheese, fruits… All this food she used to dream to eat, but which abundance seemed indecent now to her eyes. 

She took a morsel of a roasted pheasant that still had its head and its tail feathers and brought it to the prince’s mouth. She had to turn slightly to be able to feed it to him and that managed to bring them closer, if such a thing was even possible. 

As he bit in the bird’s flesh, she could feel his lips against her fingertips, the meat’s juice running down her fingers. It was all so obscene and the way Ben stared at her with burning intensity made her flush. Hopefully, in the dim light, he could not see it. 

“Thank you", he whispered, his voice a seductive hiss. 

Rey wanted to slap him. She wanted to push him away and run back to the harem. Instead, she took a deep breath and picked another morsel of the bird to feed him. She wanted to prove to him that she was unaffected by him, that she was the one in control. But the way he kept staring at her while slurping at her fingers made it hard for her to stay calm. The fact that Snoke was watching the whole thing made it even more uncomfortable. 

It was a relief when the prince and the sorcerer resumed a discussion they were having before Rey showed up. Their attention wasn’t on her anymore. Ben’s hand were however still caressing her side in a manner that was both tender and possessive. 

“I am glad you agreed to stay longer, my boy. I’ve always hoped that you would consider me as your friend", Snoke declared. 

_What a hypocrite!_ Rey thought and the prince seemed to share her opinion. 

“A friend, huh?

\- Yes.

\- Why would you want me as your friend?

\- Because you're a clever young man full of promises.

\- What kind of promises?

\- You could be a great leader.

\- Wouldn’t that be bad for you?”

Snoke laughed loudly as if that was the funniest joke he had ever heard. 

Ben and Rey waited silently until the echo of his laughter faded away. 

“You are very popular, Ben Solo. People love you", the sorcerer finally said, sounding suddenly very serious.

"People often misplace their affection. Besides, I don't really care.

\- You should! That gives you power.

\- I am not interested in power”.

The sorcerer let himself fall against the back of his bench as if he were tired of negotiating with a stubborn child. 

“I am not a threat to your power. Isn’t that what matters? Isn’t that what you want?" Ben added bluntly, tired of the pretense.

"You have no idea what I want, Ben Solo”.

Snoke’s voice sounded menacing but it was also the first time that Rey felt that he was showing his true self to the prince. It was a fleeting occurrence though. He quickly followed up with some small talk,  “I’ve planned a hunting game for you, tomorrow. How does that sound?

\- I am sure it will be pleasant, the prince replied coolly as if nothing had happened”.

Rey was impressed at how easily they have changed the subject. They were like two cold-blooded creatures, she thought, experts in concealing their true emotions. 

Snoke didn’t stay for much longer. Taking his poor health as an excuse for leaving, he encouraged Ben and Rey to enjoy what remained of the supper, which was most of it. 

As soon as the sorcerer crossed the threshold, Rey felt the prince’s arm uncoiling around her waist. He moved away and for an instant, she missed the heat of his body. 

“You have to make more effort next time if you want to make this believable", he remarked coldly. 

Rey stood up and faced him, her hands balled into fists. 

“What is this? What are you doing?” 

Ben looked up at her. He had the same detached attitude he had yesterday when she first met him and it annoyed her how little her outrage seemed to affect him. 

“We have to make the sorcerer believe that we are sleeping together", he explained simply, throwing a grape in his mouth.

"Why?

\- Would you have preferred I told him what had happened last night?”

Rey had thought that the prince had maybe forgotten what had happened the previous night. All the alcohol he had consumed could have blurred his memory, but it was clear for her now that he remembered everything. 

“What do you want?" she asked.

"Is it so hard to believe that I did it to save you?

\- Yes. What do you want?”

Ben suddenly stood up and took a step towards Rey. When he spoke, his face was at a hair’s breadth from hers: 

“You accused me of being selfish. You said that I didn’t want to help Kylo Ren.

\- I didn’t…

\- Yes, you did”.

Maybe she was right when she assumed that this was his way to punish her. Maybe he wanted her to apologize. Still, Rey stood her ground and sustained his cold stare. 

“Tell me, Rey. What do you think I should do?”

She fluttered her eyelashes in confusion. 

“You obviouslythink I am not doing enough to help Kylo Ren. What do you think I should do?" he insisted.

"I…I don’t know”.

Ben tilted his head and sighed.

“You want to help him, don’t you?" he asked her, startling her yet again.

"I do!" she replied energetically.

"Even if it means putting yourself at risk?

\- What are you planning?”

She thought she saw a sly smile on his lips, but it disappeared as quickly as it came. 

“Come, sit down, he told her. Let’s continue our dinner. You must be hungry”. 

Rey warily sat back on the bench and Ben went to take the one previously occupied by Snoke. He started eating in silence and she soon followed through. She timidly picked some bread and chewed on it slowly, still worried that this would turn out to be so kind of trap. 

“You don’t trust me", Ben remarked, while eating an apple. 

Her silence was confirmation enough. 

“Are you still mad I called you a _whore_?”

The nonchalance with which he asked was really irritating, but what he said next sounded uncharacteristically genuine,  “I was wrong. You are not a whore”. 

It was as good an apology as she could get, but he ruined it with his following demand,  “Don’t you have something to say?

\- I already apologized to you, didn’t I?”

The prince laughed at that and Rey watched him, mesmerized. It was the first time she saw this side of him. Happiness, even when it was fleeting, suited him. 

Did Kylo Ren look this endearing when he laughed? 

She was still troubled by their resemblance. She wondered if it was a good time to ask Ben about his relationship with the Jinn, but before she could decide, the prince left his bench and came to sit next to her. 

“It really suits you, he told her, looking down at the necklace”. 

Snoke was gone. They no longer had to pretend, yet Ben seemed determined to destabilize her. 

Their proximity made her nervous. She’d thought that after last night, she wouldn’t be affected by the prince’s advances, but the way he stared at her, the allure of his deep voice made her heart beat faster. 

He caressed the skin above the necklace. His touch was delicate as if he were touching the wings of a butterfly, but it was enough to make her shiver. 

Rey could not tell if she enjoyed or hated being touched by him. The only certainty was that her body temperature was rising at every stroke of his fingers. 

She saw him lean forward, his face getting dangerously close to hers and she panicked. 

“Stop, she whispered and Ben froze”. 

She could see that he was disappointed, but he didn’t go any further. The strange thing was that she also felt a bit disappointed. 

“You should probably go back", he quietly said to her. 

Rey nodded, then stood up. She waited for a short moment, perhaps expecting Ben to say something, but he did not. 

“Well, good night", she told him instead. 

As she walked towards the door, she kept wondering what she and the prince actually were. Were they allies now? Could she really trust him? 

She gave him one last glance and saw that he was staring blankly, visibly lost in his thoughts. She was convinced that he didn’t even notice when she left the room, but it was all but true.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dear readers, 
> 
> I have to thank you for your support and your patience (especially for your patience)! My life has been quite eventful lately. I have been living in Japan for nearly a month and a half. I have started working at a high school and as you can imagine, it can get very busy. 
> 
> Still, it's not the reason why it took me so long to update. I have actually been working on this chapter (well, they ended up being two chapters) for weeks! I wrote many versions, but none seemed good enough. I have actually written myself into a corner! I didn't know how to make Rey and Ben's relationship evolve without it feeling forced. I hope the result is somewhat decent. 
> 
> Your comments and kudos bring me as much joy as a cup of kahwa (which is the Arabic word for coffee, but you guessed that I reckon). I can hardly believe that this fic has reached 400 kudos! That's just wonderful! 
> 
> Please, do not hesitate to leave a comment, even if your English is not your first language (it's not mine either), or just because you want to say hi. Even if I am part of the Reylo fandom, I rarely communicate with other fans. I guess it's partly because I am as shy on the internet as I am in real life. Still, I would love to exchange opinions with you and know what your headcanons are for this pair.


	11. Desire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kylo Ren tries to unveil the mystery of Rey's origins while Ben discovers a secret of his own.

“ _Warda_ ”

Rey thought she heard Kylo Ren’s voice calling her in the middle of the night. Startled, she sat in her bed, her heart throbbing furiously. She whispered his name :

“Kylo!”

There was no answer. The only sound she could hear was the steady breathing of the sleeping girls who shared her dorm.

Maybe it had been a dream.

Rey felt deflated. For a moment there she’d thought that Kylo Ren’s reflection had come to visit her like it used to do before Snoke had discovered that they were meeting in secret. Her disappointment was great indeed when she realized that it wasn’t actually there.

In her heart rippled the echo of his voice. She missed him. She wished that Kylo would defy his master’s orders and come to her. She wanted to see him, to talk to him, to touch him and be touched by him. She wanted it so badly that it hurt.

She squeezed her eyes shut. This sensation of utter longing was painful but it was also strangely delectable.

 _Is this what it means to be in love?_  she wondered.  

Hundred of miles away, Kylo Ren was riding on his horse, heading for the fortress that guarded the western borders. His thoughts were occupied by the girl he had left alone at the mercy of his cruel master.

By now, she must have met the prince. She must have discovered the nature of their relationship. Part of him wondered if she hated him now that she knew the truth. If he were wise, he would think that it was for the best, but Kylo Ren was anything but wise.

He burned with jealousy when he imagined her with Ben. He’d never thought that one day he would consider him a rival. He didn’t think either that he would feel for someone the way he did for Rey. He did not know how he would react if he ever saw them together. It was a good thing that he had been sent away.

At the first rays of dawn, he reached his destination.

The western fortress was a true architectural prowess. It stood tall and proud in the middle of the desert, like a mountain in the middle of a perfectly still ocean. Still, Kylo Ren felt sorry for the soldiers who were positioned here, waiting indefinitely for an enemy that never showed up. Well, almost sorry…

The gates of the fortress were opened to let the dark knight in and as he came down from his horse, he saw a red-faced soldier flying down the stairs to meet him.

The man made his way through the crowd of soldiers gathered in the courtyard for their morning ablutions. The few stairs had managed to get him out of breath and he had to lean on his knees for a moment before he could say something.

Kylo Ren considered him with unconcealed disdain. As a Jinn, he did not suffer from the heat as humans did. He was himself made of fire.

“General Hux is waiting for you in his office, the officer finally said.

\- Like he always does, Kylo acknowledged coolly”.

He passed the reins of his mount to the poor soldier who was still panting as he passed him by. The man’s eyes widened in horror when he realized that it was up to him to deal with the red-eyed fury that was Kylo Ren's horse.

As he went up the stairs, the Jinn was perfectly aware that the letter he was carrying held no vital information for the general like it was supposed to. He knew that it was just an excuse to get him as far away as possible from the capital and out of Ben Solo's reach. In this place, this fortress in the middle of nowhere, he could be monitored until his master would call him back.  

He came into the office and was faced with the back of General Hux who sat at his chair contemplating the vastness of the desert from his window.

“Kylo Ren, I was expecting you earlier”.

The Jinn frowned. Hux knew of his coming which further confirmed the purposelessness of his mission. He managed to keep his composure and replied, trying to sound as detached as he could, “I was met with some severe weather”.

Hux swiveled his chair around revealing the scornful look he had on his face.

“But of course!" he remarked smugly as if he thought that it was clever.

The general was a young man, probably of Ben’s age. He had been assigned to this fortress years ago and hoped that if he showed enough devotion to Snoke he might be called back to the capital.

Even in the suffocating heat of the desert, Hux wore his full uniform. He was cleanly shaved and his ginger hair was carefully arranged, trying to keep appearances when Kylo Ren could see that he was sweating like a pig.

“I will have to inform the Supreme Leader", the general threatened.

"Why? Didn’t you already?" Kylo Ren laughed. "Or perhaps do you fear you might cover yourself in ridicule if you did”.

Hux scowled at the Jinn. It was no secret that they hated each other. Kylo considered the general like an annoying bug he wished he could squash. The general envied Kylo’s position next to the Supreme Leader and he never hesitated to use every opportunity to cause him harm.

Still, sometimes, the Jinn could notice the way the general looked at him, the want in his eyes. He could have felt pity for him but desire only made a man like Hux more vengeful and bitter.

“Where have you been?" the general insisted, refusing to let go.

"Nowhere", Kylo replied while throwing the letter over the desk in front of Hux.

He was telling the truth. He had been to nowhere. He had been to Jakku.

After he had left Snoke’s palace, he had secretly headed for Rey’s homeland. He needed to know if his suspicions regarding her abilities were founded and he'd hoped that he would find some answers there.

When he had arrived at her village, he had been received by that awful man that had all but sold Rey to Snoke a few months earlier. Unkar Plutt had seemed even more massive than when he had first met him. He had clearly benefited from Rey’s inclusion to Snoke’s harem more than any other person in Jakku.

As he had come out of his house, he had asked the rider in panic, “What happened? What did she do?”

Truly, Kylo Ren had felt disgusted by him. The man had seemed to fear more for his income than for the well-being of his ward. How had Rey managed to bear to live with him? He had remembered that Unkar Plutt had told him once that she had been living in the desert on her own and he had realized why.

He’d wondered if Rey would appreciate it if he brought her this man’s head on a plate, but he’d feared she might find it a bit too intense. He did not wish to frighten her.

Kylo Ren had still managed to talk to Unkar Plutt without sounding too menacing, “I have to talk to you.

\- Of course”.

Unkar Plutt had invited the knight in. He had encouraged him to sit at his table and yelled at a young girl who was either a servant or another of his wards -it had been impossible to tell the difference by the way he had been treating her- to bring them some tea.

The man’s obsequious manners had irritated the Jinn and he had decided to forgo any kind of civility when he addressed him, “You told me last time that you weren’t Rey’s father.

\- No, her parents entrusted her to me", Unkar Plutt had conceded, a bit warily.

"Who are they?

\- Who? 

\- Her parents!

\- I don’t know.

\- You don’t know?!”

Kylo Ren had roared like a dragon startling his host so well that he had stumbled. The Jinn would have attacked him if it hadn’t been for the children who had been hiding behind the door, trembling in fear while witnessing the scene.

“Who are they?" Kylo Ren had hissed, offering Unkar Plutt one more chance.

"I swear I don’t know who they are! They showed up one day with their kid. They seemed to be running from something. They left their daughter with me, telling me that they would come back to get her soon. I never saw them again”.

So this was the whole story. Kylo Ren had been tempted to believe it. Rey’s parents had probably paid Unkar Plutt to take care of her during their absence. When it had become clear that they wouldn’t come back, he had been all too eager to get rid of her.

“Show me where she lived", The Jinn had ordered.

One of the kids who lived with Unkar Plutt had guided Kylo Ren outside the village. They had had to walk in the desert for at least one hour before reaching what had looked like a hut. When he had come closer, Kylo had realized that it was actually the rusted remains of a shipwreck. How it had gotten there, he had no idea.

He had gone inside, unaware that there had been a family who had moved in. When they had seen him come in, the mother and her two children had screamed and run to hide in a corner.

Kylo Ren had considered them coldly. Surely, if there had been something that Rey had left, it hadn't been there anymore. The new occupants had probably disposed of it. He had looked around, searching for some clue, until he had noticed the wall covered with marks. They had to be hundreds of them, perhaps thousands. He had known instinctively that it had been Rey’s doing.

He had come closer and had traced the shape of one of the marks with his gloved finger. It had spoken to him, told him Rey’s story, her years of solitude, the wait. Her parents had abandoned her and now... so had he.

He had left the hut, left Jakku. He had ridden his horse relentlessly until the beast had become too tired to continue. They had stopped so it would rest and the Jinn had been forced to face his situation.  

His trip to Jakku had turned out to be a waste of time. Nothing he had found proved nor refuted his suspicion. Still, he had realized that he had abandoned her, left her without protection. If Snoke came to discover that she was indeed _gifted_ , she would be in grave danger.

Now, as he stood in General Hux’ office, he tried to think of the way he could go back to the capital without this snitch reporting it to Snoke.

The Jinn could kill Hux. He could kill everyone in this fortress, drawn it under a sea of sand. He knew he had the power to do it, but he also knew the consequences.

He remembered the ring he had impulsively given to Rey. It had been a gift, but also a test. It was up to her to discover its power and use it to bring him back.

**********************

Ben sighed deeply and let his head fall back. The baths were extremely hot, almost unbearably so, but it turned out to be exactly what he needed. He had been feeling tense lately and he needed to unwind.

Someone came to sit next to him on the bench and he did not need to look to know who it was.

“So? I heard you have been having a good time with Rey”.

The prince hummed in reply. He wished Poe would get the hint and leave him alone, but his mother’s captain was nothing if not persistent.

“I heard that it went so well that there wasn’t much left of your room after you were done with her”.

Ben glared at Poe. He wasn’t in the mood for his teasing.  

“She _is_ pretty, Poe added, ignoring the prince’s menacing look.

\- She is Kylo Ren’s lover, Ben revealed, managing to silence Poe for a few seconds.

\- Really?”

Poe seemed amused by the revelation, but a sudden realization wiped the smile off his face.

“And you want to use her to get to him", he said to Ben gravely.

The ease with which the captain had figured it out was quite alarming.

“She is willing to help!" The prince retorted.

"She is a nice girl. Don’t put her in danger.

\- You mean if she came to you and offered to join the Resistance, you would have said no.

\- It’s not…

\- You have no right to lecture me, Poe Dameron. You have your reasons to be here and I have mine”.

Ben didn’t even bother to cover himself before storming out of the room.

Poe breathed deeply. He was used to the prince’s difficult temper. He knew that it was always better to leave him alone when he was angry. With some luck, Ben would be in a better disposition when they went hunting later.

Ben dressed up in the vestibule that connected the baths to the rest of the palace. He refused to let the servants help him and they had to stand there, awkwardly watching him in silence while he fumbled with the many layers of fabric that constituted his outfit.

He knew that the irritation he felt wasn’t actually directed at Poe but at himself. The captain had simply voiced what Ben was already thinking.

Last night, when Rey had left him, he had realized that his desire for her hadn’t been a passing emotion caused by too much drink or circumstances. It was a persistent want that made his blood burn and filled his head with dangerous fantasies.

All night long, he had been imagining them together: Her and Kylo Ren, kissing, licking, sucking, their limbs entangled in exotic embraces and it drove him mad with both jealousy and longing.

Somehow, the salacious visions that his mind produced revolted him as much as they excited him. He knew though that he wasn’t part of the equation. Rey wasn’t his and he’d better not try to make her so if he wanted to use her to lure Kylo Ren.

Ben was aware that he wasn’t any better than Snoke, using her for his own ends, but he convinced himself that whatever happened, he wouldn’t let Rey be exposed to any harm. He just needed a reason to convince the Jinn to disobey his master and he had to admit, even if it pained him to do so, that it wouldn’t be him.

He stared at his reflection once he was fully dressed up. The eyes that looked back were sad and full of guilt. Maybe he didn’t have what it took to get what he wanted. He was too scrupulous.

Perhaps, if he opened up to Rey, if he told her exactly what he had in mind instead of hinting to it, she might still want to help him. Still, wouldn’t that be like manipulating her feelings for Kylo Ren?

The prince felt the sudden urge to see her and talk to her. Before he could consider his decision, he sent word that he wanted her to accompany him during the hunting game.

Rey joined him and Poe later at the courtyard. When he saw her coming their way, the captain exclaimed:

“Don’t tell me you invited her!

\- Alright! I won’t tell you I invited her.

\- Ben, what are you doing?”

The prince ignored the question and went to meet Rey. She looked like the servants had prepared her in a haste. She wasn’t made up. Her clothes were plain and practical, a simple long skirt and a brown coat. As for her hair, it had been tied in a braid that dangled over her shoulder. He found that he liked the way she looked. He could finally discover the true nature of her beauty.

“You called for me, my prince”.

She seemed flustered like she didn’t know how to feel about all this.

“Yes, he replied", amusement tingeing his voice. "I thought you might enjoy some time out of the palace”.

Rey looked up as if she just noticed. She probably didn’t have the opportunity to go outside since she had gotten here.

“We are going hunting", Ben explained.  

It seemed to somehow spoil her enthusiasm. He added:

“Didn’t you use to hunt in the desert?

\- I did.

\- Well then.

\- I did it because I had to. I never did it for pleasure.

\- Maybe you will learn to enjoy it”.

Ben went back to join Poe, slightly annoyed by her moralizing tone. She followed him.

The captain greeted her in his usual loud, slightly obnoxious manner:

“How nice to see you, Rey!”

He got closer to her and feigned to whisper in confidence when he knew perfectly well that Ben could hear him:

“Maybe now that you are here, this hunting game won’t be as boring”.

She smiled discreetly and it irritated Ben that they would share such complicity.

“What weapon will you use?” the prince asked addressing the captain, probably to put an end to their exchange, but it was Rey who replied:  

“I handle a staff pretty well.

\- You are not planning to club a hare to death, are you?" Ben laughed and it seemed to upset her.

She pouted slightly and it made her look strangely adorable. He wanted to keep teasing her, but Poe spoiled his fun.

“Do you know how to use a bow and an arrow?" the captain asked.

"Yes, she replied, but she didn’t seem too sure”.

The prince walked by her and she followed him with her eyes as he went to retrieve a bow and quiver full of arrows from one of the servants who carried their arms. She seemed to suddenly notice the falconer that was standing by and was subjugated by the eagle perched on his arm.

Ben smiled. If he wasn’t sure to bring the falconer with them before, now he was determined. He was himself a skillful eagle-hunter and wanted nothing more than to impress her, for her to look at him with admiration for once rather than with distrust.

He gave her the weapon then went to get on the horse that had been prepared for him. He reached his arm to help her to climb behind him but she just stood there, staring at him in silence. When he reckoned what she was thinking, he snorted:   

“You want your own horse”.  

No one had thought to prepare a mount for Rey. Ben could have asked the grooms to quickly fetch one for her, but he noticed that Poe still hadn’t gotten on his:

“Poe, give your horse to the lady”.

The captain’s eyes widened in surprise. He stammered something unintelligible, but the prince cut him off before he could compose himself:

“I am sure you have more important things to do”.

Poe had to comply with Ben’s demand, although he seemed quite unsure about it. Rey gave him an apologetic look before climbing on the horse with unexpected ease.     

Ben lead the way on his grey stead followed by Rey, the falconer and a couple of guards. As they rode to their destination, the prince noticed that she was trying to keep up with him and it slowly turned into an impromptu race.

The two of them reached the woods before the rest of the company. They stopped and Rey seemed mesmerized by the view that laid ahead. Her eyes shimmered with wonder and Ben wondered what it was in this plain looking bosk that impressed her so much.

When the men finally joined them, they all went into the woods. The prince knew them quite well because he had already visited them many times in the past. They were small, though rich in prey. The trees were dense and their branches quite low, but that made the hunt more challenging.

The party reached a clearing where they dismounted their horses and unburdened them of their charges.

Rey tried her bow and Ben noticed that she had the wrong posture. Whoever taught her how to use one did it badly. Still, he saw an opportunity to challenge her:

“What do you think we make this interesting? If you are able to bring back a game, I’ll give you something you want, but if you don’t, you’ll give _me_ something I want”.

She didn’t seem to find this amusing and when she replied, she sounded as serious as can be:

“Would you give me back my ring?”

Ben’s nostrils flared with anger.  _My_ ring? How arrogant can she be? However, he was prepared to indulge her, certain that she had no chance to succeed.

“Alright", he said with a forced smile.

He put on a pair of long leather gloves, got on his horse and waited for the falconer to hand him the eagle. The bird had been thus trained that it obeyed not only its master but the person who fed it meat. Ben offered it a small morsel of rabbit meat before he removed the little mask that was covering its eyes.

The bird screamed proudly, startling Rey who was carefully watching them. The prince smiled at her smugly before he prompted his horse to run back towards the trees.

The woods seemed eerily calm. Usually, they were swarming with birds and small animals, but today they were awfully empty. That perhaps made it easier for Ben to win his bet against Rey, but it was also far from entertaining if there was nothing to hunt.

He had to wait for a long time before something finally attracted the eagle’s attention, something moving behind the bushes. As it sensed their presence, a creature emerged and started running. It was a hare, a big one.

Ben started chasing after it. He wanted to get close enough before launching the bird of prey in pursuit of the hare. The furry animal was however too quick and it led them to a part of the woods that was so dense that it became difficult for the horse to run. Yet, the prince kept pushing his mount to go faster, faster, until suddenly a shadow appeared from nowhere.

The horse panicked. It reared out of control, neighing loudly, throwing its rider on the ground. Ben was nearly crushed by its hooves, but he managed to move away on time. It ran away, leaving the prince to face the beast alone.

Ben saw that it was a lynx eyeing him as if it had decided that he would be its next meal. He got on his feet and tried to step away slowly while reaching for his dagger, but he could see that it was ready to pounce on him. It flexed its feet and hurled itself into the air when an arrow came from nowhere and hit it directly in the eye.  

The lifeless body of the wildcat fell dully at the prince’s feet and he stared at it in complete shock. Only Rey’s voice managed to pull him out of his torpor:

“Are you alright? she emerged from the dense trees.

\- You… You killed it!”

His mind raced as he tried to comprehend what just happened. It didn’t make any sense! He had seen how unskilled Rey was with a bow and an arrow. How had she managed to hit the lynx right in the eye? From that far? When there were so many obstacles? It was impossible. Impossible! Unless...

“How did you do it? he asked.

\- I don’t know, she replied, frantically shaking her head”.

She seemed genuinely alarmed as if she had done something wrong. 

Suddenly, all became clear in Ben’s head.

Before he knew what he was doing, he was pushing her against the trunk of a tree where the eagle was perched, watching them with indifference.

“You really don’t know?” He whispered to her, his face merely a few inches from hers.

She shook her head again. He suspected that part of her knew the truth but that she refused to accept it.

“You know! You know what you are.

\- No, you are wrong. 

\- You are…

\- No!" she screamed. "Don’t say it!

\- … a witch”.

She gasped loudly as if burned by his words. Her eyes filled with tears of fury.

“I hate you", she whined, as if by voicing it he had been the one to make her so.

Something happened to him then. All the tension that has been building between them suddenly snapped like a taut rope. He crushed his lips against hers, squeezing her shoulders between his hands. Her lips tasted sweeter then the first time they kissed and he devoured them ravenously.

He heard her whimper, at first trying to resist him, but she soon gave in, moving her mouth against his, tracing its seam with the tip of her tongue.

He interrupted their kiss just to look at her. Her face was flushed. She was panting and he saw in her eyes something akin to resignation as if she felt that this was wrong but couldn’t help herself.

Ben didn’t understand what was happening to him. A voice inside called to him to stop it, to let her go, but it was a dim beacon in a storm of emotions. There was no way he could be reasonable when the pull to her was strong.

They kissed again, both whining like this was all out of their control. The texture of her little tongue was soft against his as she fought her way inside his mouth. He let her in before turning the tables on her and sucking on her tongue. She jolted and he had to caress her hair fondly to reassure her. She slowly gave in to his assault and when she moaned with pleasure, he thought that his heart would melt.  

Ben abandoned Rey’s lips to kiss her beautiful neck. He had wanted to since the first night they met. She squirmed and mewled as he licked and bit her skin and when he saw the mark he had left on it, he laughed wickedly.

“Come", he whispered in her ear, his voice dripping with want.

She followed him obediently as if under a spell until they reached her horse. Rey sat behind Ben and threw her arms around his chest, holding tight while the mount brought them back to the palace.

He could have sworn that the distance had gotten longer, but it was his need to take her in his arms that made him impatient. He could feel her small body against his back and the thought that he would soon have her was properly intoxicating.

When they finally arrived, he helped her dismount, his hands lingering on her hips as she came down. He held her by the hand as they made their way to his new room. They met some people on their way, but they barely noticed. They had eyes only for each other.

After he had closed the door and secured the lock, just to make sure that they wouldn’t be interrupted, Ben turned around to look at Rey standing in the middle of the room. She seemed suddenly confused and unsure, but he would have none of that.

He lifted her off the ground and carried her in his arms to the bed before throwing her on top of it. She landed on her front with a loud gasp, but he didn’t give her a moment of respite. He climbed on the bed on top of her and all but ripped the clothes off her back, revealing her beautiful shoulders. They were covered with freckles and he set up to kiss every single one, setting her skin on fire with his lips.

It was with great effort that Rey turned slightly on her side and pressed her hand against his chest in a feeble attempt to push him away.

“We shouldn’t it", she whispered.

Ben clenched her wrist and forced her arm above her head.

“Stop resisting me", he ordered before attacking her pouting mouth.

She responded to his kiss, sliding her lips against his. He sensed that she was desperate for more and Ben hoped that she was as hungry for him as he was for her. He wanted to possess her, to devour her.

The prince freed Rey from the rest of her garments and she was soon laying naked under him. She looked impossibly small and fragile. His own hands seemed huge when he caressed her petite body.

She was tense, jolting every time his fingers came too close to a sensitive area. It excited him to know that he was the first to touch her so, but he also wanted her to enjoy it.   

“You are so beautiful", he murmured soothingly to which she responds with a low hum.

He was panting loudly while looking at her small breasts. They bounced delicately as she breathed and he noticed how her dusky pink nipples hardened the more he caressed her skin. Without any kind of warning, he lowered his head and took one of them in his mouth.

She gasped and quivered in reaction, pushing against his head to stop him, but the more she resisted the stronger he sucked.

“Ah!" she suddenly screamed, arching her back.

She’d stopped fighting and surrendered to the pleasure.

He grabbed her breast and pushed it further inside his mouth. It was warm and soft. So incredibly soft. He could feel its texture against his tongue, the taste of her skin oh-so-arousing.

His cock throbbed furiously. He wanted her to lick him and suck him. He wanted to be inside her.

He let go of her breast and saw that it was bruised and covered in spit. He was being rough and he feared he might hurt her if he gave in completely to his passion.

He licked her other nipple, at first more gently, drawing slow circles around the peak, but the wanton cries that came out of her lips flared his desire and he was soon pulling it between his teeth. She seemed to really like the feeling of his mouth on her breasts and Ben thought that there was another part of her anatomy that might like appreciate even more.

He abandoned her chest and placed his hands over her knees then swiftly spread her legs. He took a sharp intake of breath when he saw her sex. Her pink lips were glistening and he could see her throbbing clit peeking between them.  

Ben licked his lips and looked up at her face. She was red with embarrassment and turned her face to avoid his gaze, but there was no mistaking her arousal.

She jumped when he touched her pussy, spreading the lips with his thumb. She was wet and he brought his finger to his mouth while she looked at him in shock. He sucked her essence, smiling at her wickedly. She tasted as delicious as he had hoped.

He quickly positioned his head between her thighs, and when he finally felt her folds against his tongue, he sensed a bolt of energy shooting through him. Her body quaked and shivered in reaction. Her hands fell on his head, but she didn’t try to push him away this time.

“Oh! What?" she whimpered, but she sounded more surprised than shocked.

Ben smiled against her flesh. She had probably never felt such pleasure before and he wanted to show to her that he was capable of much more. He licked her again, this time his tongue lingering, going up from her pucker hole to her swollen pearl. He sucked on it and he felt her pulling his hair. It was probably an involuntary reaction as was the sudden jerk of her pelvis.

He placed his hand on her belly and pushed it down, immobilizing her so he could continue with his ministrations. With his tongue, he drew haphazardous forms against her clit and she moaned and screamed desperately at every touch.

Her essence covered his mouth and he kept lapping at her entrance, drinking as much of her as he could get. He wanted to get drunk on her, for her to inhabit his mind and fill him with impossible visions. The feeling of her fingers massaging his scalp made him hum with delight. 

Her pussy was quivering furiously, signaling her impending orgasm. He had planned to fuck her, but he couldn’t find it in him to deny her what he hoped was her first release. He could not wait to hear her voice echoing in the room as she came all over his face.

He pushed his tongue inside her and she finally toppled over. Her back arched sharply and she painfully pulled on his hair, but the way she screamed when she reached her climax turned more exquisite than he had hoped.

He stayed there, between her legs, giving small licks to her folds as she slowly came down from her orgasm. When she calmed down, he settled on top of her again.

She sighed and frowned slightly as he kissed her face. He didn’t want her to regret what they had done. He wasn't done with her. His own needs hadn’t been satisfied this time, but he would make her his. It was only a matter of time.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally! Sex! I am sorry it took me so long to get there (no pun intended). 
> 
> I really hope you appreciated this chapter even if it is a bit long. When I started this fic, I was planning to write short chapters, but I get more carried away with every new update. I am curious to know if you like these lengthy chapters. Would you like me to go back to a shorter format? 
> 
> I was happy to write about Kylo Ren again. Like many of you had told me in the comments, I've missed him. I hope he won't disappear again as he did in the last chapters. 
> 
> I enjoyed your comments so much! I love our exchanges, all the encouragements, and advice you give me. I am truly lucky to have you as my readers. Nothing makes me happier than to know that my writing gives you joy. Thank you!


	12. Forbidden Fruit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey feels guilty for what she had done with Ben.  
> Ben discovers something interesting about the ring.

She smelled of him.

Rey had taken a long bath, rubbed her skin with soap until it turned red, and yet she could still smell him on her. Or maybe was it just in her head?

She still could not believe what had happened, what she had done: She had succumbed to Ben Solo.

She sat in her bed, going through the events that had led to that moment in her head.

 _It was a moment of weakness_ , she tried to argue with herself.  _I didn’t have the choice_.

But she did have the choice. She had followed him to his room willingly and she had allowed him to kiss her and touch her and… Oh, gods!

She tugged at the collar of her gown to peer at her chest. It was covered with bruises. The proof of what she had done was printed on her skin. She gasped and quickly covered herself again.

Rey had regretted what happened the moment she and Ben were done. As soon as she had come down from her climax, she had been crushed with guilt. She had promised Kylo Ren that she would think of him if she ever slept with Ben, but she hadn’t. She had been perfectly aware that it had been the prince and not the Jinn who had been between her legs.

They looked the same, but they were completely different and no matter how much she wanted to, it was impossible for her to pretend that the one was the other.

Then why? She thought she hated Ben. She still hated him! No matter how tender he had been after their lovemaking.

He had showered her face with kisses and they had felt nothing like the previous rough and possessive kisses he had given her. She had still turned away from him and he had whispered in her ear:

“Say something”.

He had sounded genuinely concerned and also a bit hurt.

When she hadn’t replied, she had felt him leave the bed and then heard him leave the room.

She had gone back to the harem on her own, eager to rub her mistake off her skin.

The girls had looked at her while she had bathed. They had seen the marks on her skins and they had obviously figured out what had happened. They hadn’t looked surprised though. They had probably thought that she had slept with him already on the first night, and yet she had felt ashamed.

 _It was a moment of weakness_ , she repeated to herself but it brought her no comfort.

Something had happened, though, in the woods. Something that had left her shaken and dazed. Ben had called her a witch and she had believed him but now that she had calmed down and could think more clearly, she knew that he had been wrong.

There was no way she could be a witch. Of course, she knew magic existed -Kylo Ren had often demonstrated that to her- but it was a foreign concept to her, something mysterious and unattainable. How could she, a poor girl from a backwater land, be a magic wielder?

Her mind refused to admit and yet… when she recalled what had happened in the woods, she struggled to find another explanation.

Rey had known that Ben had been in danger. She had sensed it and as she had run towards him, guided by an inexplicable intuition, she had known that she wouldn’t reach him in time to save him. She had taken an arrow in her quiver and shot it, willing it to hit its target and it had inexplicably obeyed to her. It had reached its aim when it shouldn’t have been possible. There had been too many trees on the way and she couldn’t even see the animal properly. Saving the prince had been an impossible feat that she had somehow managed to accomplish.

Could magic help her do that? Did it make people control objects? Rey was very curious but she was even more afraid. If she truly had magic powers, she didn’t know what would happen to her.

Everybody knew that Snoke had killed every other sorcerer who had confronted him. He went as far as to organize a purge against all magic wielders after his conquests. Only those who fought by his side and those privileged enough to have been out of his reach survived. That didn’t help her figure out how he would react if he were to discover that  _she_ was a witch.

She had to keep it secret. She barely allowed herself to think about it as if she was afraid that someone might read her mind. But Ben Solo... He had been there when the arrow had hit the lynx in the eye. He knew what she had done. He could tell Snoke if he wanted.

Was it why she had given herself to him? To make him keep her secret? Of course not! She would never stoop to such a level. Rey had sex with him of her own accord and she had to bear the consequences, however painful they were.

**********************

Even when his master Kylo Ren was away, Finn would wake up every morning before dawn. His eyes would open and, no matter how hard he tried, he could not go back to sleep.

He was awake now. Might as well do something useful.

There was no shortage of work to occupy his time: He had to clean and help attend to the palace’s guests’ horses. Still, it was with a grunt that he left his hammock and made his way for the courtyard.

He started sweeping the floor, halfheartedly. At least, he thought, he didn’t have to deal with Kylo Ren’s fiery stallion today. Although he had to admit, life felt quite dull when the Jinn wasn’t there.

Finn heard people talking in hushed voices and it made him curious. Usually, the knights and noblemen who came to fetch their horses never cared to lower their voices even this early in the morning and the servants didn’t often use the courtyard as a meeting place.

He stepped closer, discreetly until he became able to distinguish their forms. It was a couple hiding behind one of the few trees that decorated the yard.   

“Have you tried to ask her? She might want to join us", said the unknown man.

"No, I didn’t", replied a feminine voice that Finn recognized.

\- Why?

\- She is in enough trouble as it is.

\- You don’t think she would help us? Maybe she can influence Kylo Ren and make him…”

The man stopped and swiftly turned his head towards Finn.

“Someone is there!" he cautioned.

The girl spun around and before Finn could react she was on him.

Beebee was maybe small, but what she lacked in height she made up for in agility. She grabbed his arm and twisted it behind his back.

“Awwww!" he screamed.

Being attacked by the tiny servant was like being bitten by a cat: It was at once painful and humiliating.

“Beebee, it’s me!" he added but she did not relinquish.

"You were spying on us", she said to him and he could not believe how menacing she managed to make her voice sound.

"I swear I wasn’t”.

The man came closer and Finn could finally distinguish his face in the dim light. Funny how his mind worked, but even at this moment, Finn incongruously thought that the stranger was the most handsome man he had ever seen.

“Who are you?" The stranger asked.

"I am Finn. I am a stable boy.

\- He serves Kylo Ren", added Beebee twisting his arm further, eliciting a shameful squeal from him.

"Let him go, Beebee”.

She let go of his arm as soon as she was instructed to and Finn would have thanked the man for trusting him implicitly. Or at least, that’s what he thought.

“What did you hear?" The unknown man asked.

"Nothing, I swear!

\- You are lying, aren’t you?

\- No!

\- Sorry, my friend, but I think I will have to kill you”.

Finn’s eyes caught the reflection of light on a dagger that the stranger had produced from under his coat.  

“What? No!

\- Poe, wait!" Beebee intervened and Finn could have kissed her. "Finn, you owe me a favor, don’t you?

\- Uh huh…

\- Well, you will own me another favor after this.

\- How…”

It didn’t really add up in his brain.

“Congratulations, you are now part of the Resistance", she told him and for a moment, he thought he preferred to be stabbed instead.

"And what if I refuse?" He dared to ask after swallowing hard.

"Are you sure, Beebee?" The man called Poe asked, ignoring Finn’s remark.

"Yes. He could be useful to us.

\- I am not sure…" Finn tried to interfere, but it seemed that he had no say in the matter.

"Alright, you will be supervising him, Beebee. Tell him what he needs to know, but nothing more.

\- Yes, Sir!”

The girl seemed jubilant that she had recruited Finn. He could see her broad smile in the fresh light of day.

“Do not disappoint me!" she warned him in a cheerful way that still managed to frighten him.

Finn did not fully comprehend what just happened. Apparently, he was part of the Resistance now… The Resistance? Kylo Ren was going to kill him!

**********************

Rey dreaded meeting Ben Solo again. For once, she felt afraid of him. She was afraid of his power over her.

She wanted to believe that she was able to keep her calm, that she could remain indifferent to him. Still, she did not know how her body would react if he came to touch her again.

All day long, she had felt restless, her skin tingling with want and she hated herself for it. When did she become this wanton creature? Didn’t she care who touched her as long as she was satisfied?

The image of Ben’s head between her legs haunted her. She tried to chase it away but to no avail and what shocked her the most was how good it had felt. She had realized that the caresses that Kylo Ren  -or rather, his projection- had given her had nothing to do with the prince’s. Ben's were raw and all-consuming. They made her body quake with pleasure and her mind float in the sky.

If only it had been Kylo Ren who had made her feel this way. If only she could hold him against her heart.

Her eyes burned with unshed tears when she reached the dining hall. She was proud though and refused to show any weakness, especially that there were other guests tonight.

Ben was again sitting at the biggest table with his friend and Rey was relieved to discover that Snoke wasn’t there.

When she met the prince’s gaze, he had no reaction. He considered her with lazy eyes for a short moment then brought his attention to something else.

Rey still had to sit next to him. Poe welcomed her with enthusiasm:

“Good evening, Rey. You look wonderful, tonight. Well, as always”.

She smiled. Poe had the strange ability to give flattery without sounding flirtatious.

Ben said nothing.

The captain filled the silence with the tale of some of his adventures and Rey found out that they helped her forget her own worries. She listened to him eagerly and laughed at his jokes, almost forgetting the prince next to her.

Suddenly, she felt Ben’s arm circling her waist. She turned her head and found herself face to face with him.

“Would you like some?" he asked and she arched her eyebrow in confusion.

He pointed at a small crystal cup before him filled with a strange translucent and shimmering substance. She hesitated for the sightless moment. Heat seemed to radiate from where he was holding her.

“What is it?" she asked.

 _"Sherbet "_ , he replied, his eyes fixated on her lips.

Rey had never heard of  _sherbet_ before and considered the cup with weary eyes.

“It’s ice", he added, tilting his head to the side and examining her face as if he was seeing her for the first time.

His scrutiny was making her feel uncomfortable. She took a spoon and dipped it in the  _sherbet_. When she put it in her mouth, she jolted and let go of a short shriek that made Ben smile.

“It is so cold!" she complained, putting her hand over her mouth while she tried to swallow it. "How do people eat this?

\- It’s a delicacy", the prince explained. "You will learn to like it”.

She did not like this last remark and it showed on her face. She felt as if he wanted to change her just like her teachers had been trying to do before he came.

He caressed her cheek and she started at first, then allowed him to chase away her frown. His touch was delicate and soothing and she didn’t find it in her to reject him when they were surrounded by so many people.

“I won", she declared out of the blue.

Ben raised his eyebrows in surprise and she had to elaborate:

“Yesterday, when we went hunting, you said that if I brought back a game, you would give me the ring back.

\- Well, you didn’t technically…

\- I saved you!”

They peered into each other’s eyes and Rey thought, for a moment, that he would get angry.

“Yes, you did", he smiled in amusement.

"Will you give me back the ring?”

He considered her in silence then looked down at his fingers. She saw him bring his other hand to remove the ring when he suddenly stopped.

“Did he… did he say anything when he gave you the ring?" he asked, a bit pensive.

"No", Rey replied quickly, afraid he might change his mind.

"Huh!”

To her dismay, he left the ring around his finger.

“Let me hold on to it for a bit, will you?

\- Why?

\- I need to verify something”.

Two ideas came to Rey’s mind then: The first was that Ben Solo was a man of no word. The second was that the ring was more than a simple piece of jewelry.

For a split second, she considered attacking him and taking it from him. She’d had enough of his games and he could probably see it in the way she glared at him.

For the rest of the evening, she ignored him. She ignored his caresses and the kisses he peppered over her pouty face.

“Don’t be mad", he pleaded playfully. "I will give to you later. I promise.

\- I don’t believe you", she dared to reply, knowing that by that time the other guests were too drunk to notice their exchange.

Even Poe had left.

“I give you my word", Ben told her, trying to bring her closer to him but she pushed him away.

"That isn’t saying much”.

He let go of her and she was surprised to see a smile on his face, although it was a sad one.

“You really hate me", he said and it sounded more like a constatation then an accusation.

Rey did not reply. She just stared down at the carpet they were sitting on.

“I could have told Snoke what you are but I didn’t”.

In her mind, his words only meant one thing: He was threatening her. If looks could kill, the one she gave him could have obliterated him.

“I would never tell him. I would never cause you harm", he added simply, ignoring her menacing eyes.

She fluttered her lashes in confusion. She didn’t know how to react anymore.

“I will protect you from him", he concluded and it was strange the lack of passion, of any emotion when he spoke.

He stood up and she followed him as if she could not leave their discussion end this way. They found themselves in the corridor, Ben walking with Rey behind him. He turned around to face her and she stopped. He was at less than an arm’s length away from her.

“Will you come with me?" he asked, taking a step closer to her.

She realized her mistake. She should have never followed him.

“No", she said as he placed his hand on her cheek.

"Why not?" he whispered seductively.

"I can’t…

\- You can… Come…”

She sobbed then and she felt pathetic for hesitating. He lowered his lips and she felt them brushing hers teasingly.

“Come", he repeated and his voice was as soft as silk.

"Do I have the choice?" she asked, her voice breaking with emotion.

"Yes.

\- Then… no”.

He stepped away from her and she saw the hurt in his eyes. He was trembling, breathing heavily. He clenched his fists and before Rey could say something more, he turned on his hills and walked away.

She watched his dark form disappear at the corner of a corridor and she could finally breathe. Some part of her was disappointed that he didn’t insist, but she shut it down and made her way back to the harem.

**********************

When he came into his room, Ben sat down on the edge of his bed, running his fingers through his luscious hair. Frustrated didn’t even start to describe how he felt.

He had thought that he had her, that she would give in. He was certain that she had hesitated. She had almost yielded but in the end, he came back alone to his room.

He had had half a mind to drag her with him to his room and show her what he could do to her. She had seemed to enjoy it yesterday. However, he refused to be that kind of man. It seemed that she thought very lowly of him, but he would prove to her that she was wrong about him.

Besides, he had realized that he had done a mistake when his mind stopped being inebriated with lust. Rey was a forbidden fruit. She was Kylo Ren’s and if Ben wanted to convince him to go back to him, it would help if he didn’t sleep with his lover.

Yet, when he saw her again earlier this evening, ignoring her allure turned out to be harder than he thought. Her body called to him. He remembered how much he had wanted her the day before, how he had pledged to have her, no matter what. His desire for her was as intense as it was dangerous.

If she had said yes, he would have brought her to his room and ravished her. He would have fucked her in all the ways he knew. He wouldn’t have given her any respite until she couldn’t take it anymore. He would have forgotten about the ring, but now that he sat alone in his room, he examined it with resignation.

It was probably what had upset her: his refusal to give it to her. She was stubborn and wouldn’t give up on it, but an idea had come up to him. He should have thought about it earlier, but he had just realized that maybe, just maybe, the ring hadn’t been a simple lover’s gift.

When he used to be Luke’s student, he had heard of sorcerers who could transfer some of their powers into objects. Those objects could have many uses, from wish-fulfilling to curse-casting. What if Kylo Ren had done something to his ring?

Ben removed it from his finger. He wasn’t convinced he was right but it was worth the shot:

“Come to me, Kylo Ren", he murmured standing up and holding the ring high between his fingers.

Nothing happened and he snorted, mocking his own naivety.  He went to pour himself a glass of wine -he needed one badly- when he felt the ground moving under his feet. The room started shaking around him and he was suddenly projected outside the palace. It was as if the word was moving at fast speed around him while he stood motionless, watching this prodigy with wide eyes.

He nearly toppled over when it stopped but he caught himself in time. He realized that he was in the middle of the desert, the night sky sparkling above him.

“You?" he heard a voice say and he knew whom it was before he even turned around to look.

Kylo Ren was standing before him, a look of utter incomprehension on his face.

Ben gasped. They were finally reunited. He had imagined this moment a thousand time, but it had never been quite like this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay, another update! My creative juices are flowing again (is this... how you say it? It doesn't sound right somehow). I really hope you enjoyed this chapter even if there wasn't a lot of action (and by action I mean sex). 
> 
> Sherbet is, of course, Sorbet. If you ask me what is the thing that my culture has created that I am most proud of, I would say Sorbet! Not all the mathematics and medicine discoveries. Sorbet. I love ice cream. So. Much.
> 
> I love you so much for the kudos and especially for your comments! They are always so interesting and encourage me to write quicker (it's the truth! Scientifically proven). Thank you for your generosity and for being such faithful readers of this story.


	13. I want to live

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben and Kylo are finally reunited. Rey is warry to meet the prince again.

The world was perfectly still. The silence was complete. In the desert, the stars and the moon crescent shone brightly and cast a ghostly light over the sand dunes.

The prince and the Jinn stood there watching each other. It all felt like a dream yet Ben knew that it was all real.

He was the first to move. He took a couple of hesitant steps before he rushed towards his doppelganger and took him between his arms. He held him tightly, almost painfully and yet he was the one who was out of breath.

“It’s you! It’s really you!" he said and he was nearly crying with relief.

He had waited for so long and the moment had finally come. He and Kylo have been reunited. He felt joy for the first time in years and it was almost overwhelming.

“Where is Rey?”

At first, Ben’s brain refused to admit that the Jinn had said those words and it took him a moment to react. He slowly stepped away to look at Kylo’s face and he was met with a stern expression.

Ben’s disappointment was so great that he felt numb. He did not know how to react. He laughed then when he saw that the Jinn was unmoved, he said in a monotone voice:

“Is that all you have to say to me? After all these years?

\- Where is she? Did something happen to her?" Kylo added, relentless.

The void inside the prince was suddenly filled with a whirlwind of anger and bitterness. He clenched his fists until his arms started to tremble and when he spoke, his words dripped with venom:

“You would prefer if she were here instead of me?

\- You have taken the ring from her”.

The Jinn seemed equally enraged and he suddenly no longer looked human. He grew in height and towered above Ben like a shadow, his eyes burning like furnaces. The prince watched his transformation with a mix of awe and caution, still, he did not relinquish:

“It was  _my_ ring! You had no right to give it away.

\- What have you done to her?”

The shadow hovered above Ben menacing to cover him completely. Instead of afraid, the prince felt all his anger morph into sadness. He frowned at the Jinn then looked down at the ring in his hand.

“She is safe. She is in the palace", he finally revealed and the Jinn instantly regained his original form.

Silence fell again between them. Ben could no longer look at Kylo in the eye. He wished he was far away and yet he could not move. The idea came to him that he no longer had any reason to go on and that he should just stay there until the desert sand would cover him completely.

“Ben", he heard the Jinn call him softly and it pulled him out of his somber thoughts. "You shouldn’t have come”.

The prince snorted. He misunderstood Kylo Ren’s warning:

“Why her?" he asked while staring at the stars above.

"I don't know... It just happened", the Jinn replied simply.

"So it has nothing to do with the fact that she’s a witch”.

Kylo’s reaction was instantaneous. He hurled himself towards Ben and stopped only when his face was at a hair’s breadth from the prince’s.

“How do you know?" The Jinn asked and the prince could read panic on his face.

"Why do you care for her so much?

\- Answer me!”

Ben’s nostrils flared with indignation at being thus addressed by his doppelganger. He was jealous of Kylo’s devotion for her and it made his blood boil in his veins.

“She did something", he still provided. "Something impossible. She has a gift.

\- Does… Snoke know?" Kylo whispered as if he did not dare to put his worries into words.

"I don’t know”.

The Jinn let out a ragged breathe that the prince could not identify as either an expression of relief or anguish.  

Ben considered him with cold eyes. He could not understand Kylo’s feelings. He seemed to him like a stranger, someone he couldn’t recognize. This man was not the Kylo Ren he thought he knew.

“You know?" The prince started saying in an emotionless tone. "I have tried to understand, for many years, why you have chosen me”.

The Jinn lifted his head to look at the prince with knitted brows and Ben continued:

“Why me? Did you think I was special? Did you want to help me? Or is it because I had something that you wanted?”

Kylo Ren gazed at Ben’s face for a moment before lowering his eyes with what was akin to defeat.

“Did you know I could not use magic since you have left me?" The prince added in a shaky voice.

He had been hiding this fact from everyone and it was the first time he had truly acknowledged it. He added:

“Is this why you are interested in the girl?”

The accusation startled Kylo Ren. His eyes widened and he shook his head but before he could protest, Ben said:

“I have always refused to believe that you were using me. I wanted… I wanted to believe that you cared for me.

\- I care for you! Ben, I care…

\- You were only looking for a victim.

\- No! It’s not true!”

It was the Jinn’s turn to take the prince in his arms. He held him with as much force and at first Ben remained impassive before eventually curling his arms around Kylo.

“If only you knew", the Jinn whispered in the prince’s ear.

Ben body was shaken with a violent sob. He started crying and his tears fell over Kylo’s shoulder.

“I am being torn apart, the prince confessed and the Jinn held him closer still.

\- Ben… You have to learn to live without me. You have to keep on living.

\- I don’t want to live like this! I don’t want to be this man.  

\- Ben.

\- I want to be with you. Come back to me. Come back.

\- I can’t”.

Ben sighed. Deep down, he had known for a long time that things would never go back to the way they were but he had refused to admit it. There was no way to avoid the truth now.

Kylo pushed him gently so they could look at each other. He gently wiped the tears from the prince’s face and told him:

“You have to live, Ben. I… I want to live too”.

The prince let go of a deep breath. Somehow, he felt no anger at Kylo. He just felt… tired as if he had been running to catch the horizon and finally understood that he would never reach it.

“Is this the life you want? To be that evil sorcerer’s slave?" Ben asked Kylo.

The Jinn’s eyes became cold and the prince thought he might refuse to answer before he heard him say:

“I have no choice.

\- Why?

\- I have made a promise. A Jinn’s promise is bidding.

\- Like the promise you gave me that we would be reunited”.

Kylo’s reaction was unexpected. A sad smile drew on his lips and he revealed:

“Technically, I have kept my word. We have been reunited. You have to be careful how you phrase your demand to a Jinn, otherwise, they can interpret it as they like”.

Apparently, Snoke had thought it through better than the prince did. Ben felt the matter was aggravating him and he chose to let it go for now. He looked around him and asked:

“Is this a real place?

\- Yes… and no.

\- Where are we?

- Somewhere no one can find us”.

Ben faced Kylo again:

“Am I still at the palace?

\- No.

\- So people can notice if I am gone.

\- Yes. Were you waiting for someone at this hour?”

The prince’s eyes twinkled with malice.

“Maybe", he said and the Jinn seemed to stiffen.

They both knew that Rey had been introduced to Ben by Snoke, that she was supposed to seduce him.

“Are you afraid I would take her from you?" he asked point blank and Kylo’s nostrils flared with sudden anger.

Ben had a sly smile. Seeing how easily Kylo could be provoked was strangely satisfying and the prince wondered if he wasn’t after all still a bit angry at the Jinn.

“Though I think I have a better idea", he added surprising the Jinn and himself.

 

**********************

 

The day went by slowly and uneventfully. Rey was told that she had to attend yet another banquet tonight.

 _How many of these did she have to go to?_  she wondered.

She thought of the events of the previous night, how she almost gave in to Ben Solo’s advanced. She barely knew or understood herself when she was around him and she wished he would leave already.

As soon as the thought crossed her mind, Rey was overcome with a strange sense of loss. Could it be that she didn’t want him to go? Maybe, with Kylo Ren gone, she was in need of companionship. She used to be solitary and self-reliant when she lived in the desert. How things have changed!

While she was being prepared by the servants for the night’s festivities, Phasma suddenly appeared in the room. Rey was happy to see her until she saw the severe expression on the superintendent's face:

“What is it?" The young woman asked cautiously.

"Rey, did you refuse to follow the prince to his chamber, last night?”

Rey swallowed hard:

“He told you?

\- Someone saw you, Rey. Have you any idea what you have done?”

Rey was lost for words. She could not deny it for it was true.

“I… I couldn’t", she stammered.

"You couldn’t? Why do you think Master Snoke has chosen you to join his harem? Why do you think he gives you shelter and feeds you? So you would do one simple thing! You are supposed to obey the prince’s every demand. Do you understand?”

Phasma’s voice echoed in the room and Rey had no doubt that it could be heard everywhere in the harem. Still, she didn’t let herself be intimidated. She straightened her back and held her chin high.

“I understand", she replied coldly then turned her back to Phasma.

The blonde woman seemed to regret the tone she had used to address her protégé, but Rey could not see it. She instead heard the superintendent leaving the room but not without one last warning:

“He seems keen to see you again. Don’t ruin your chance”.  

When she made her way to the dining hall, Rey examined her options. She had realized that there were eyes everywhere in the palace. What little freedom she thought she had turned out to be an illusion. She was bound to give herself to the prince either she wanted it or not.

Oddly enough, she felt relieved that she no longer had to struggle with her moral conundrum. If she ended up sleeping with Ben, it wouldn’t be her fault. She didn’t have the choice. Nonetheless, the prospect made her heart constrict. She still felt that she was betraying Kylo.

The doors of the dining hall opened for her and she was met with darkness. The only thing source of light was a tall white box at the end of the room. There were shadows moving on a screen and Rey realized that they were puppets.

The audience seemed subjugated by them and kept watching as the story unfolded accompanied by the music of a band hidden in the dark.

Rey made her way carefully through the guests. She could not see very well but she still managed to reach the table she remembered Ben always sat at without crushing someone’s toes.

She recognized the prince’s unmistakably imposing figure. Even in the dark, she could see how he towered above the other guests sitting around him. She went to sit next to him without uttering a word so to not disturb the show.

On the screen, there were two figures fighting, or at least she thought before she realized that they were actually in an amorous embrace. Rey’s cheeks turned crimson at the salacious display and she was glad that no one could see her.

She fluttered her eyelashes when she felt Ben’s fingers caressing her nape. He did it delicately, almost cautiously and she knitted her eyebrows at how much it was unlike him to be so careful. He usually forced her against him without any warning.

His fingers lingered at her hairline before he ran them through her hair. It felt so strangely intimate that Rey drew a sharp breath. She turned to face him and in the dark she could not see his face clearly, only his eyes reflecting the lights of the screen. They were fixed on her and for a moment she thought that there was something odd about them.

Rey turned towards the screen again, but her mind was distracted. There was something unsettling about the way the prince was behaving tonight. Something did not feel right.

Suddenly, she knew.

Carefully, she turned again and leaned on her arms so she could bring her face closer to his.

“Is it you?" she whispered in his ear.

He touched her cheek and she gasped. She should have known that it was him the moment she sat next to him. She should have sensed it. No one exhaled the same aura as Kylo Ren's.

Rey tilted her head so she could better feel his touch. She could not believe that he was here next to her. Her heart was beating so loud she feared the audience might hear it over the sound of the music. Her joy was however spoiled by the fear that they might be discovered.

She wanted to jump in his arms but she stopped herself. Instead, she looked around to see if there was someone watching them. It was hard to distinguish anything in the hall so she had an idea.

Rey took Kylo’s hand and stood up, encouraging him to follow her. She carefully led him towards the exit and together they left the room.

When they arrived in the corridor, she still didn’t dare to look at him. She kept walking while holding his hand, trying to keep her respiration even. His presence next to her was overwhelming. There was an energy coming out of him. It drew her like a magnet and she had to resist it with all power of her will.

They reached Ben’s room. There was a guard there in front of the door and Rey nearly panicked at the prospect that he might recognize the Jinn. The guard however quickly made way for them so they could access the room.

Rey turned her head to look at Kylo and saw, now that they were in the light, that he had a scar over his face. The same scar Ben had and usually distinguished him from his double. She fought the frown that threatened to raise the guard’s suspicions and quickly entered the room.

Kylo followed her and closed the door behind him. She had the feeling that she was trapped at the way he looked at her but it did not scare her. She didn’t want anything more than to be with him.

She took a deep breath before she hurled herself at him. She clasped him in her arms. With her ear against his heart, she could hear it beating at the same rhythm as hers.

“Little  _Warda_ ", he called her and a flower bloomed in her chest.

She laughed and looked up at him with her arms still around his chest.

“I missed you… so much”.

There was despair in her voice and her eyes were beseeching. He didn’t make her wait for too long. He captured her lips in a passionate kiss and it was everything she had hoped for and more.

Rey had feared that Kylo’s kisses wouldn’t make her feel the same way Ben’s did. How wrong she had been! Kissing the Jinn was like drinking the water from a fresh spring after days of thirst. It invigorated her mind and made her senses sing.

The way he locked his lips with hers, guiding her without being forceful surprised her as much as it delighted her. She didn’t expect him to be so gentle, or perhaps she had grown used to Ben’s more dominant ways. It did not last very long though.

Kylo cradled the back of Rey’s head so she would not escape him and set up to devouring her sweet lips. She moaned and it only prompted him to deepen their kiss. He pushed with the tip of his tongue against the seam of her mouth and she opened it to grant him access.

When she felt him invading her mouth, Rey feared her legs might give in under her. She felt dizzy at the sensation of his tongue licking her palate. She wasn’t one to remain passive though. She counter-attacked by pushing her own tongue and rolling it inside Kylo’s mouth.

He broke the kiss and when she saw his face, her breath caught in her throat. The desire she read in his half-closed eyes, his glistening lips slightly parted, made her gasp.

Suddenly, she started panicking. She knew where things were leading to and she was afraid she was not ready.

Rey turned her head to avoid his gaze until she felt his hand against her cheek. He encouraged her to look at him again and when she did she saw that he was smiling at her, tenderly. Her fear dissipated and she only felt want. Want for this man, for this creature.

Kylo took a step forward, forcing her to move back then again until she hit the bed and fell sitting on it. He placed his hands over her shoulders and pushed her against the mattress. He climbed over the bed, his legs on either side of her hips and leaned on his arms so he could look down at her.

Slowly, he lowered his face and kissed her lips, just a peck that left her wanting for more. He kissed her brow, her eyelid, her cheek. Every time, his lips lingered on her skin and it was like he was writing a poem on her body.

His touch became more insistent when he reached her neck. She threw her arms around his neck and he sucked her skin then bit it, just enough to make her jolt. He licked the mark and Rey sighed deeply as he followed the line of her jaw with his tongue.

She noticed that she was squirming under him. His lips were putting her body on fire and an indefinable sensation was coiling inside her belly.

“Kylo", she murmured and she felt him moving away.

Before she could even react, the Jinn grabbed the hem of her dress and tore it apart, revealing her naked chest underneath.

Rey swallowed hard when she noticed the feral look on his face. He grinned devilishly while examining her breasts. He met her eyes before leaning forward and taking one of her tits between his lips.

“Ah!" she screamed in surprise but did not try to push him away.

She was leaning on her elbows and she tilted her head back to better appreciate the sensation of Kylo’s mouth sucking on her nipple. He did it slowly at first, drawing circles with his tongue around her tit, then he started flicking it rapidly while his lips remained sealed around her mount.

He grabbed her other breast while he was working on the first one and started knitting it. She looked down and saw that he was fixing her with his wild eyes. She whimpered and bit her lower lip when he let go of her breast and attacked the other one.

The pleasure it procured was almost unbearable. It sent bolts of electricity through her body that concentrated between her legs.

Rey felt Kylo tugging at her dress again and he ended up tearing it completely while he was still sucking her breast. When he let go of her skin, she whined and it made him smile. She noticed that he looked a bit deranged when he set eyes on the apex between her legs.

He seized her waist and made her turn around on her belly. He pulled what remained of her gown down her shoulders and tossed it to the side. His eyes took in her naked form and he delicately caressed her backside.

Rey had her face buried in the pillows. She felt self-conscious and didn’t dare to look at Kylo while his hands roamed over her back. She still obeyed his command when he lifted her pelvis. She stayed there in this strange position until she felt two of his fingers caressing between her legs then diving inside her core.

She started and screamed, clenching the sheet that covered the mattress. Kylo’s fingers were inside her probing her inner flesh and it felt so strange and so foreign. She felt him massaging her back with his free hand, drawing comforting circles and they managed to soothe some of the tension in her muscles.

He started pumping his fingers inside her pussy and at first, she felt tense but soon enough she started moving her pelvis to match his movements. She swayed her little hips and moaned, deliciously accompanying the smack sounds of his digits fucking her.

“Do you like it?" he asked in a husky voice.

Rey nodded while a moan of pleasure escaped her lips.

“Say it!" he ordered her, his voice now booming.

"It feels good", she breathed, twisting her neck so she could look at him.

She was dripping wet. He knew that she was ready for him. He pulled his fingers out of her hole and flipped her around once again.

As she landed on her back, he started undressing. He was wearing the clothes of the prince and she wondered what actually happened between them so they would switch places. But her mind was idled with desire and she was soon distracted when she saw his bare chest. It was chiseled like a statue’s and covered with innumerable scars.  

Kylo removed his trousers and Rey’s eyes widened when she discovered his erection. She examined it with curiosity and when she looked up to meet her lover’s gaze she saw he was smiling wickedly.

He grabbed her tights and lifted her lower body, throwing one leg over his shoulder and the other around his waist. He gazed between her legs and reached with his hand so he could touch her folds, softly caressing her sopping lips. He parted them carefully then pinched the swollen nub they were concealing making Rey’s whole body quake.

She thought that perhaps he would put his mouth on her as Ben had done. She somehow wanted him to. It had felt so good when the prince did it to her. Instead, she saw Kylo taking his girth in his hand and start rubbing it against her pussy.

This was a new sensation altogether and it felt incredible. The texture of his cock was so soft and it was driving her mad with want. She turned her head and whined into the pillow. It made him laugh, the cruel beast.

When he penetrated her, all the air was knocked out of her lungs. All her muscles stiffened and her mouth fell open in a silent scream. He was inside her and it felt painful.

Rey noticed that Kylo was frowning. She wondered if he was as much in pain as she was. He reached for her face and touched it fondly. The pain started receding and she let go of a deep breath. She now felt his dick throbbing inside her and he suddenly started moving. He pulled out and when she thought that it was over her rammed his cock inside her again.

“Oh!" she exclaimed like she was offended but it was nothing but.

He did it again and it felt so good. He was so big she thought he could never go deeper but he surprised by pushing further every time he thrust inside her. Her muscles stretched to welcome his length and she felt them pulsating and clenching around it as if they were devouring it.

Kylo looked down at his lover and was thrilled by the way her perky breasts bounced every time he rammed inside her. A furious flush covered her face and her neck and she screamed in pleasure, over and over, in that lovely voice of hers.

He was still holding her leg over his shoulder, but he reached with his other hand between her legs. He started rubbing her clit and he was rewarded with a clench of her pussy around his dick.

“Oh, Kylo", she breathed while she swayed her hips in an exotic fashion.

Rey felt greedy. He filled her completely, furiously slamming his balls against her asscheeks and she still wanted more. She wanted to feel him all over her. She wanted to taste him, to suck him. If only there were more of him.

Before she could elaborate further on that thought, she was hit with a mind-shattering climax that made her scream to the top of her lungs. Her folds quivered furiously around her lover’s length and her back arched tautly when she suddenly felt him bursting inside her.

She did not expect it. She had been giving books with illustrations of the different ways that lovers could use to please one another, but none described what just happened.

Rey looked at Kylo and her eyes betrayed her confusion. She felt, however, that he had left a part of him inside her and the thought was oddly comforting.

The Jinn kissed her calf before he let her leg fall over the mattress. He stretched his body on top of her and kissed her pouting lips.

She still felt exhilarated by their lovemaking and his slow delicate kisses helped her calm down.

He allowed her to rest for a while then gathered her between his arms and made her sit on his lap with her legs around his hips. He had her that way and again later against the wall.

Rey felt like she was trapped inside a wanton dream. Being with Kylo was like being made love by the night. She wished that they could stay like this forever. She wanted to pretend that there was no tomorrow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dear readers, 
> 
> Here it is. The moment we have been waiting for: Rey and Kylo having sex XD. 
> 
> Tell me what you think. I am so grateful for your kudos and comments. Some of you take the time to comment on every update and it is just so wonderful! 
> 
> I will try to keep this steady rhythm of updates although I am working on my other projects at the same time. I want to finish another of my Reylo fanfics called "The Cabinet of Wonders". It is also a kind of fairytale, but it is more gothic and a bit less explicit. I am very attached to it and I really want to give it the end it deserves.


	14. Tell me everything

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kylo Ren reveals to Rey some details about himself and his relationship with Ben.

“Jinns are made of fire”, that was what the girls of the harem had told her.

Rey examined Kylo’s face as he slept peacefully between her arms. The few candles that were still burning in the room provided a soft light that illuminated and accentuated his features. She contemplated his contradictions, how his beauty laid in the sum of his faults.

The scar he had on his face was a constant reminder of the prince but she refused to let it spoil this precious moment. She snuggled up to her lover’s naked body, her arms circling his broad chest in a protective and possessive way. He was still a mystery to her. Something beautiful and strange. She wanted to keep him, like the little small treasures she used to collect back when she lived in Jakku.

Kylo slowly cracked open one eye and Rey gasped quietly when he met her gaze, more in wonderment then in surprise. One corner of his mouth went upward drawing an uncharacteristically boyish smile on his lips. He reached with his hand as if he were to touch her face and she closed her eyes in anticipation of his caress, but he ended up ruffling her hair, making her groan in mock displeasure:

“Stop that!" She complained, but he could see that she was smiling.

"You are adorable", he laughed and she wrinkled her nose in reaction.

There was tenderness in the way he smiled at her, but also a hint of sadness that Rey didn’t fail to notice. She didn’t need him to tell her the reason. She knew that however wonderful this moment was, it was bound to end. Refusing to let him go, she tightened her grip around him and nuzzled her face against his chest.

“Rey”.

She felt the slight tremor of his chest against her cheek as he said her name and it made her heart flutter with delight. Her head snapped up to meet his gaze and he frowned slightly at the fierce determination he saw in her eyes.

“Tell me!" she ordered, an impish smile on her lips.

"Tell you what?" he asked, looking equally amused.

"Everything! I want to know everything about you!

\- Rey", he tried to reason with her, his expression suddenly grave.

"I want to know where you come from, what’s your favorite food…What powers do you have? How come you and Ben look the same?”

Her shoulders fell as the words crossed her lips, all her joyful enthusiasm suddenly leaving her. She instantly regretted mentioning the prince, but her curiosity had gotten the better of her. When she saw the forlorn look on Kylo’s face, she became persuaded that she had made a mistake.

When he spoke, his tone was as soft as it was wistful.

“You would hate me if you knew”.

The young woman shook her head energetically, revolted by such a statement.

“I am not a good man.  

\- It is not true! I know it’s not true”.

She sat on her knees next to him and cupped his face in her hands, forcing him to look her in the eyes. His own eyes were plaiding but they were only met with resignation.

“You would hate me", he murmured as he caressed her cheek with his thumb, tenderly.

His statement angered her. He had already decided for her and she was determined to prove him wrong.

“Never! Whatever you did, I would never hate you!" Rey declared with so much resolve that it made Kylo flinch.

He lowered his gaze, visibly considering her words. She leaned forward and placed a tender peck on his pouting lips.

“Nothing would ever make me hate you", she told him, their faces so close their noses nearly touched. "Tell me… please?”

Rey smiled, reassuringly and he blinked, confusion drawn on his face. He hesitated longly, then turned his face away as he started speaking:

“I and Ben have the same face because I stole it from him", Kylo Ren revealed, his voice cold, devoid of any apparent emotion. "I took everything from him: His identity, his powers. I am responsible for everything that has happened to him”.

The words lingered in the silence that followed them.

It seemed to Rey that Kylo wanted his words to shock her. He seemed determined to depict a repulsive image of himself, as though he _wanted_ to make her hate him, but she saw right through it. She was unyielding.  

“What happened?" she asked softly.

"I was dying", he replied, after a short silence.

Her breath caught in her throat, still, she kept quiet, careful not to interrupt him.

She nestled up to him, prompting him to go on:  

“Jinns, we are mortals like you, but we do not die of the same causes as humans. Our bodies are impervious to age or diseases. Indeed, it is not our flesh that withers with time. It is our souls”.

He paused for a moment and Rey placed her hand over his heart to comfort him. It obviously demanded a lot of effort of him to tell her these things:

“I was the last one left. All my fellow Jinns had let themselves molder long ago and I was left alone to wander the earth in search of a reason to keep on living. I was tired. I had seen too many tragedies, suffered too many losses. I had thought for a time that humans would prove themselves wiser than Jinns but they had turned out to be just as impetuous, always too eager to throw their fragile lives for mirages. I had forgotten that there was light in the world and could only see the darkness”.

Rey squeezed her eyes shut. She understood too well what he meant. She sometimes felt that same despair regarding her fellow humans. She loathed their greedy and selfish nature more than she dared to admit.

“I was ready to let my flame go out. That was when I felt her presence, a mother who loved her child so much that she shone like a beacon and guided me in the night of my soul. I followed her light and found her. I crept inside her room. I had been reduced to a mere shadow then, a shapeless entity that had forgotten its own identity, and I watched her as she sang to the infant in her womb.

\- Ben", Rey provided and the Jinn nodded gravely.

"Her song filled me with warmth and I felt, for the first time in so long, my heart beating. She had brought me back to life, and the first thing I felt then was jealousy. I was jealous of the little soul that was growing inside her belly”.

Kylo’s lips twitched as he recalled the intensity of his emotion.

“I wanted that woman’s affection. I wanted to be loved like she loved her child. I stayed in the room and waited for days, for months, lurking in the shadows until the day the boy was finally born. I possessed him before he drew his first breath! Because I was weak. Because I was evil”.

The Jinn fell silent, his shoulders heaving as he panted. His eyes burned like furnaces and he might have looked threatening to someone else, but Rey didn’t flinch. She kept her hand over his chest and said calmly:

“That doesn’t make you a bad man.

\- Rey…" he tried to argue, but she interrupted him.

"You were desperate. You made a mistake and you obviously regret it!

\- You don’t know that!”

Before he could know what she was doing, Rey was on top of him. Her hands placed on either side of his head, she held his eyes prisoners with the intensity of her gaze.

“Say it then!" she whispered almost menacingly. "Say that you don’t regret it!”

He swallowed, his Adam's apple bobbing in his throat. She could tell that he was irritated to be thus confronted and yet she did not relinquish.

“Tell me that it is not because of Ben that you are Snoke’s slave, that you are not punishing yourself”.

As a sole response, Kylo clasped her arms, carefully pushed her away and laid her on her back next to him.

She watched him with a desperate frown as he left the bed and walked towards the window. Perhaps, she had gone too far.

Mousseline curtains danced with the breeze while he stood there, in silence. He seemed to contemplate the moon crescent. Rey hesitated before she finally decided to join him. She walked quietly towards him and when she took his hand, he interlaced their fingers.

“I want to help you", she told him, a bit shyly.

Kylo Ren turned his head slowly to look at her and under the moonlight, he almost looked unworldly, celestial.

“I think… I can help you”.

He did not say a thing, which surprised her. It was as if he did not need her to elaborate. As if he already knew.

“Something has awakened in me…" she started and suddenly turned around and took her face between his hands.

"Rey, no!" he almost yelled at her face, his nostrils flaring.

"Why? she asked a bit disrupted.

\- Promise me! Promise me you will never use your powers! 

\- Kylo…

\- Don’t put yourself in danger for me. Have you any idea what Snoke will do to you if he ever knew?”

There was true despair in the way he said those words. He took her between his arms and fondly caressed her hair as if to prevent an invisible force from taking her from him. He could not see the anger on Rey’s face.

She allowed him to hold her for a while before she declared:

“I don’t care”.

The Jinn’s eyes widened in surprise.

“You think I can stay idly by while you are suffering at that man’s hands? This… thing inside me, it has always been there and I have always feared it, until now. I know I have this _gift_ for a reason.

\- Rey…

\- I will help you, either you want it or not”.

Kylo sighed deeply, somehow in defeat. He seemed lost in thought for a short moment then he smiled, his demeanor going from resigned to amused. There was even something akin to wickedness in the way he stared at her.

“You have always been stubborn", he commented and she pouted in reaction.

He kissed her, then, without warning, until he chased away that upset look from her face.

The touch of his lips cast a spell on her. Pleasure rippled through her body like on the surface of a water pool and it felt like she had been dormant and was suddenly brought back to life. Everything around her looked brighter and more colorful. She shivered in delight when she felt the caress of the soft breeze on her skin and his smell filled her lungs with a unique aroma that made her somehow think of the sun.

She moaned desperately when their lips parted.

“Promise me at least that you won’t tell anyone else about it", he murmured in her ear, reinforcing the idea that it had to be a secret.

Rey worried at her bottom lip before revealing:

“I think Ben knows.

\- Yes. He told me.

\- What?”

The look of betrayal was evident on her face and he reacted swiftly:

“He won’t betray you.

\- How can you be sure?

\- Because I know him. I _am_ him.

\- You are nothing like him. He is rude and conceited. I hate him!”

There was too much passion in Rey’s words, almost like she wanted to convince herself more than Kylo.

“Rey, if you hate him, that means that you hate me, too", he pointed out placidly.

"Stop it! That’s not true.

\- When I entered Ben’s heart, I was like a book that lost most of its pages. I copied him so I could fill all those parts that were missing in me. I am him, in more ways than you think”.

The young woman was about to argue further that the Jinn had qualities that the prince obviously lacked when she remembered the way she had allowed Ben to touch her. Perhaps Kylo was right. That would explain why she felt attracted to his double.

However, the memory filled her with guilt for she still did not forgive herself for sleeping with the prince. For a moment, she considered telling Kylo, but she was interrupted in her musing:

“It was his idea that we exchange places so I can be with you tonight", the Jinn revealed in an obvious attempt to make Rey see Ben in a better light.

She fluttered her eyelashes in surprise then frowned in deep reflexion. She had trouble believing that the prince had done this out of generosity and feared he had ulterior motives.

“Does it mean… you will have to leave?”

Rey already knew the answer, yet she needed him to tell her.

“Yes", he replied, looking as devastated as she was to face the truth.

"Can’t you take me with you? Can’t we run away?

\- Rey, I can’t.

\- Because of Ben?”

Kylo didn’t answer her question and it was confirmation enough. She pursed her lips in discontent, yet she didn’t voice her complaint. Instead, she looked up at him and said, her words dripping with want:

“Then make love to me again, before you leave me”.

There was a subtle accusation in the way she spoke her demand and Kylo’s brow twitched in reaction. Still, the desire her words stirred in him was evident.

“Aren’t you tired?" he asked, although it was clear that whatever her answer was, nothing would stop him from having her.

"No", she replied. "I want more”.

He snorted, that demented look appearing on his face. He grabbed her by the waist, his large hands almost encompassing her small body, while she threw her arms around his neck. He hefted her and she circled her legs around his hips.

Kylo grazed his lips against hers, delicately, which was in total contradiction with the ravenous look he had in his eyes.

“I cannot resist you", he revealed before taking her lips in a bruising kiss.

Rey didn’t shy away. She kissed him with as much ardor and abandon. She licked his lips as he tried to ask her:

“What do you want me to do to you?”

She did not even hesitate. Her mind was already set.

“I want you to kiss me…”, she started and he was to crush his mouth against hers when she stopped him. “...between my legs”.

Rey blushed and avoided his gaze at first then met his eyes with what she wanted to be an unabashed look. She watched as a twisted smile slowly appeared on his lips.

He lowered them both to the ground, his grasp still tight around her until he was sitting on his haunches. He laid down under her and slipped his hands between her legs so he could grab the backs of her thighs.

All that time, she remained passive, unsure what he intended to do. He moved under her until his face came under her sex. Her blush grew furious as she saw him staring at it with as much fascination as hunger.

Kylo had his arms still around her thighs and he forced her down so she would be sitting over his face.

Her whole body quaked when he suddenly put his mouth on her. He kissed her lower lips, sucking them and licking them before pushing his sinful tongue between them.

“Aah", she screamed languidly, his slow licks as exquisite as they were unnerving.

He was obviously taking his time, exploring her folds while avoiding her most sensitive places.

She tangled her fingers in his obsidian-colored hair and started swaying her hips, rubbing her pussy against his mouth. She was perfectly aware that it was a subversion of her dance lessons and she laughed at the wickedness of her own actions.  

 She moaned loudly when he finally touched that nub between her legs where every sensation seemed to concentrate. He licked it over and over again while she rocked her hips and it was at once too much and not enough.

He dipped his nails almost painfully in the skin of her thighs as his licks grew more frenzied. He flicked her clit with the tip of his tongue and it sent bolts of pleasure through her body like fireworks.

Rey cupped one of her breasts and started wantonly caressing herself. When he saw her, Kylo reached with his hand to touch her other mount and he was rewarded by hearing her moan his name in the most erotic way ever.

The sway of her hips suddenly halted and her back arched tautly when she came over his face. Her screams of ecstasy echoed delectably in the room and he did not stop licking her while her pussy palpated against his mouth.

“Mmmh!" she moaned in satisfaction before pushing on her knees and looking down at the flushed face of her lover.

He was panting, disheveled, his face glistening with her cum and yet it seemed to her that he never looked this beautiful.

She went to lay down next to him when she spotted from the corner of her eye his erection. Some prude part of her managed to be shocked by the sight of his flushed member, even after all the things they had done tonight. Still, she was nothing if not incurably curious.

Rey crawled towards her lover’s sex, an eyebrow quirked in interest. She reached with her hand and Kylo drew a sharp breath before she even touched it. Her head snapped around and she saw that he was watching her, his jaw clenched and his lips twitching uncontrollably.

A naughty smile appeared on her mouth. Her touch was prudent and delicate, yet it elicited a foul word from the Jinn. She followed the shape of his cock with her fingers before closing her hand around it.

“Yes!" he reacted.

"What do you want me to do to you?" she repeated to him his own words.

"Move… move your hand. Up and down.

\- Like this?" Rey asked, almost too innocently while she started pumping his length.

"Hold it, tighter!”

How naturally it seemed to come to her. She moved her hand, the texture of his flesh silky against her palm. Pleasure coiled inside her belly as she heard him moaning. His face was twisted like he was in pain but she knew that he was all but suffering.

“Do you want me to use my mouth? she suggested and he choked in reaction.

"Yes", he replied and it sounded like he was begging her.

Rey was taking perhaps too much pleasure in this. She felt strangely powerful. There was something incredibly satisfying in the way he was completely at her mercy.

She bent forward and brought her face closer to his sex. She hesitated, for the slightest moment, before she kissed the head of his cock. She used her little tongue to lick him, at first timidly, cautiously, before allowing herself to explore the shape of his member more intently.

His taste was foreign and yet arousing. When she took the head in her mouth, her lover started and groaned like a beast. She was unexperimented yet eager and she tried to take as much of him as she could, but Kylo suddenly grabbed her arm and shoved her on her belly over the floor.

Before she could even say a thing, he pushed his cock inside her pussy with such force that it knocked all the air out of her lungs.

“You little devil", he murmured in her ear while slapping his hips against her back. "You are driving me insane”.

Rey wished she could come up with a snazzy reply, but his strong thrusts rendered any coherent thought impossible.

“Ah, so warm! So tight!”

His movements were as unforgivingly hard as they were deliberate. When he started slowly rotating her hips, she moaned, pleading for more.

She squeezed her inner muscles and it was enough to send him into a frenzy. He clenched her waist and started fucking her harder and deeper then he had previously done.

Rey ventured a look over her shoulder and gasped when she noticed Kylo’s manic stare. His eyes were burning red, his features twisted in a fearsome expression. He was unhinged, snarling as she had never heard him before. He no longer looked entirely human and she could have panicked if it wasn’t for the realization that for once she had a glimpse of his true nature.

He was a being made of fire and she didn’t care if he ended up burning her. She would do anything to be with him.

It was the last thought she had before she climaxed. Her pussy clenched around his throbbing cock and he continued ramming inside her until he exploded.

She sighed when she felt him pulling out of her and she turned on her side to look at him. She saw that he was back to his normal state, that tender expression again on his face.

He caressed her side and her back softly while settling next to her.

“Have you had enough?" he asked, playfully.

"Never!" she replied decisively and it made him laugh.

"My little _Warda"_ , he called her, cradling her cheek while the first ray of light appeared on the horizon”.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dear readers, 
> 
> This chapter is basically Rey and Kylo having pillow talk, then sex. There isn't a lot of action, but I still hope you enjoyed it. 
> 
> This story has more than 500 kudos now. It is unbelievable! Thank you very much! I know I keep saying it again and again, but I am truly grateful! 
> 
> I love your comments! Some of your theories are actually more inspired than my own ideas XD. Please, do not hesitate to tell me what you think. You can also find me on [Tumblr](http://lastmouseleft.tumblr.com/)


	15. In the desert

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While, Rey and Kylo are spending the night together, Ben finds something strange in the desert.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dear readers, 
> 
> It has been so long! I went through a long writer's block (horror music!). I hope this chapter will be worth the wait. But I have to warn you: it is Ben-centered XD. 
> 
> A huge, ENORMOUS thank you to [ArdeaJestin](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArdeaJestin/pseuds/ArdeaJestin) who offered to become my beta reader. I am confident that the quality of my writing will improve thanks to her.

Ben dismounted, his feet sinking in the rippled sand. His eyes took in his surroundings. Above his head was a dome of shimmering stars around a brilliant moon. All around him, the desert, majestic, almost hypnotic. A tremendous arabesque which motifs were the dark dunes. 

The horse groaned, interrupting the prince’s contemplation. Ben patted him consolingly on the muzzle and the spirited stallion pushed against his palm in an uncharacteristically docile manner. 

“What is it? Hum?” the prince asked quietly. “Why did you stop?” 

His words had no echo as if they were swallowed by the silence. He exhaled then grasped the reins of the stallion to make him move but the horse resisted his pull, shaking his head discontentedly. 

“We have to keep going. There is nothing here!” Ben yelled in a poor attempt to reason with the animal. He kept tugging at the leather straps, but the fiery mount proved inflexible. The young man quickly ran out of patience. He threw the reins with a frustrated growl then strode off.  

The horse’s disobedience infuriated him but the prince knew he had only himself to blame for this situation. This nocturnal escapade had turned out to be a bad idea.  

He let himself slump to the ground with a defeated sigh then threw his head back, looking towards the sky. Memories of what had happened since he had exchanged places with Kylo Ren came back to him in a rush, pell-mell: The suffocatingly small room in the fortress, the suspicion in the officer’s eyes, the horse thrashing against his bonds, Kylo Ren’s grateful smile... 

This last memory lingered in his mind. It had happened, right before they had parted.

“Thank you”, the Jinn had told him, in a murmur. 

Kylo’s eyes had been bright. His face illuminated with a kind of felicity that was foreign to Ben. He had looked truly happy. Heartbreakingly so. 

The prince had been the one to come up with the idea that they switch places so the Jinn could be with Rey, but right now, he wasn't quite sure how it made him feel. He had wanted to help Kylo, to prove to him that he would do anything for him. But the knowledge that the Jinn had gone on living without him, that he had someone else he cared for, filled Ben with a sense of loss and melancholy. It filled him with envy

_ They must be together now _ , the thought came to him and it was like a stab in his chest.  

He shut his eyes, inhaling sharply the crisp air of the desert. He wanted to absorb some of the peace that surrounded him, hoping that it would appease his emotions. The silence enveloped him and for a moment he felt calm, grounded. He considered the events of the day with a clearer mind.  

He could see it now, the series of bad choices that had led him here. His first mistake had been to leave Kylo’s room. Ben had found himself there after he had switched places with the Jinn and at first he had been determined to remain there, hidden. The less interaction with the fortress’ occupants, the less danger to be discovered. But in the morning, someone had knocked at his door and the prince had panicked.

He hadn’t known how to react, how Kylo would have reacted. Without really thinking, Ben had opened the door, revealing a soldier behind it who had seemed to recoil when he had seen him.

“Sir... Your… your horse”, the man had stammered. 

Ben could have shut the door on the soldier’s face, but instead, he had nodded and followed him until they had arrived in the courtyard. 

All along the way, the prince had kept silent, afraid that his identity would have been betrayed by the inflection of his voice or an odd choice of words. Even when he had discovered the peculiar scene in the courtyard, he had said nothing. He had just watched in awe as a black stallion, Kylo’s stallion, had been thrashing and kicking wildly while soldiers had been trying to tie him down with ropes. The sheer size of him, the strength that his bulging muscles conveyed, had made the horse look less like an animal and more like a whirlwind. 

“He has been like this since last night!” the soldier had revealed and Ben hadn’t reacted.

Perhaps he should have. Perhaps Kylo would have said something. Instead, the prince had stood there, mouth agape. He had never seen such a creature before, so fierce, so purely savage. And as the prince had been taken by the spectacle, he had suddenly noticed that someone had been watching him too, intently. 

A man had been at a window, upstairs, his gaze so intense that Ben had felt it. He had ginger hair. An officer at the looks of his uniform. There had been a glimmer of suspicion in his eye and  Ben had known then that he had to do something if he didn’t want to betray his identity. 

The prince had lifted an arm and had walked towards the horse cautiously, though affecting an air of confidence. He had had no idea how the animal would react. At first, the stallion had seemed to grow more agitated, sending one of the soldiers crashing against the wall. Still, Ben had persisted. He had approached him, talking to him in a soothing voice. 

“Calm down. Everything is alright”. 

The horse’s ears had twitched and, perhaps mistaken Ben for his master, he had obeyed his command. He had stopped threshing and, although his nostrils had still been flared, the prince had ventured a hand to touch his mane. For a moment, the animal’s eyes had widened menacingly, but he had ended up welcoming the prince’s stroke. Only then had Ben been able to breathe again. With a gentle pull, he had led the stallion towards the stables, aware of the officer’s eyes still following him. 

When they had arrived inside the stables, Ben had made the stallion walk inside an enclosure. He had patted him on the side to thank him for not revealing his identity, wondering if the horse had known that he hadn’t been Kylo, if he had actually helped him. 

Once he had come back to the room, Ben had started questioning the presence of so many soldiers in such a dilapidated and remote place. This had been where Snoke had been sending Kylo to make sure he wouldn’t meet with the prince, his double, but that didn’t explain it. Surely these men weren’t posted here just to keep an eye on the Jinn. There had to be a reason. 

That had been the prince’s ultimate mistake. He hadn’t tried to fight those ideas. He had allowed them to take hold of his mind until it had become vital that he would find an answer.  

He had waited until the night had come and he had sneaked out of the room. He had searched the fortress, with no avail, until he had reached the stables. There, he had found Kylo’s horse still awake. The stallion had seemed to have been waiting for the prince. 

Whatever answer Ben had been looking for, he wouldn’t find it here. Acting on pure feeling, he had taken the horse and left the fortress. 

He had not known where he had been going or what he had been looking for. He had allowed the mount to set the course, trusting his intuition. But he had been wrong. There was nothing here and the young man doubted that they would find anything even they kept going. 

The horse made a sound, pulling Ben out of his thoughts. Tilting his head to the side, the prince examined the strange creature. 

“Do you want to go back?” Ben asked, with a half-tired half-amused smile. 

Even in the dark, he could see the stallion’s brilliant eyes looking back at him as if the young man was as much of a mystery as the horse was to him. 

Forced to recognize his defeat, the prince sighed loudly as he pushed himself to his feet. He dusted off his clothes -or rather the clothes he had found in Kylo’s room- and shuffled towards the horse. He was about to reach him when Ben stumbled slightly on something. It could have been a rock and he would have paid it no attention if a glint in the sand hadn’t caught his eye. 

The prince squinted in an attempt to discern what it was, but it was too dark. When he crouched, he realized that it was a small hexagonal tile. A glazed one, judging by its texture, like the ones that covered the floors and the walls of houses and palaces. He tried to pick it up, but it resisted his pull as if it were stuck. 

A frown drew on Ben’s brow. His mind was striving to comprehend this anomaly. He felt the horse moving away in an implied warning, but he ignored it. He kept stubbornly pulling at the tile, his frustration growing the longer he tried. This little piece of pottery that refused to obey him suddenly turned into a symbol, the culmination of his recent failures. 

Ben grabbed the tile with both hands and pulled with all his strength, but it didn’t yield. He groaned and when he was just about to give up, he inadvertently pushed the tile with his finger, producing a short but distinct clicking sound. He froze, blinking in confusion before he heard a rumbling noise coming from below. It sounded like a geyser ascending from the depths of the earth. 

The prince reacted swiftly. He gave a wide berth to whatever was to appear and, although he had witnessed his share of wonders, what he saw then was nothing he could have expected. The tile started multiplying. One became two. Two became four, then sixteen. Exponentially. At prodigious speed. They covered an ever-growing surface and Ben believed they would soon invade the whole desert. He saw them suddenly change direction. They started forming walls. 

Ben’s heart skipped several beats as he watched a whole palace appear in front of him with towers so high they soon obstructed his view of the moon. The dark shape loomed above him and he could not start to fathom what kind of magic could have made such a thing appear out of thin air. 

Very powerful magic. It pervaded the air.

It had been so long since he had had this feeling. He had been disconnected from magic since he and Kylo had been separated. But right here, right now, he could feel it in his bones. It was overwhelming. He could almost hear it, like a voice calling him. 

A gate formed in front of him, a gaping hole that only promised darkness and terror, yet Ben felt attracted to it. It was as if he was mesmerized and his legs started moving on their own volition, leading him towards it. He thought he could hear the horse neighing but it sounded far away. Was he warning him or encouraging him to go through? He didn’t know. He didn’t care. 

He went inside and the echo of his steps reverberated against walls he could not see. It was completely dark yet he kept moving, the sound of his breathing loud in his ears. There was a light. He walked towards it and he soon ended up in a courtyard, a kind of rotunda with a fountain at its center. No water was coming out of it. Everything was completely still. 

The prince looked up. He saw a circle cut from the sky. When he lowered his eyes, he startled. Someone had appeared on the other side of the fountain. Someone he knew. 

_ This is a dream. This is an illusion _ . His mind reeled in confusion, desperately searching for a reasonable explanation.  

It was Rey. Her mouth was shaped in an eerie smile as she stared at him. 

“What are you?” he asked, his lips quivering.

Although she looked just like her, he was not fooled. This could not be her. 

She, this creature, tilted her head to the side as if amused by his question. 

“The answer you were seeking”, she replied, laughter coloring her tone. 

She started walking towards him, slowly. The robe she was wearing trailed behind her, its fabric as dark as the night, glinting metal threads woven through. She was naked underneath. He could see the valley between her breasts, the apex of her tights. From her skin emanated a soft glow. He knew he had to run away from her, but he felt unable to as if captivated by her gaze.

She came closer, closer, and the illusion was so perfect. It was like Rey was standing before him. His heart jumped when her soft hand touched his cheek. 

“We know what you want”. 

Her finger traced a line on his face and he recognized its shape. It was his scar. Kylo Ren had used magic to conceal it momentarily, but the creature seemed aware of its existence. 

Ben scowled and she giggled. She leaned forward to whisper in his ear seductively: “We can help you”. 

He considered her from the corner of his eyes, shuddering at the realization that even her smell was a perfect imitation of Rey’s. 

She took a step back and crossed her arms, her motion deliberate. Her fingers slipped under the hem of her robe and she pushed it away from her shoulders. It fell, pooling around her feet. The moonlight was her only garment and she looked like a goddess, extending her arm to invite the prince to her. 

He exhaled, deploring his own weakness, for he knew he could not resist her. He rushed towards her, feverish. He took her in his arms, captured her lips. He kissed her with all the repressed passion he harbored for the real Rey. Her mouth was soft, just like Rey’s. Her chin. Her neck. He devoured her skin but instead of hot passion, he only felt sorrow coursing through his veins. 

His lips lingered on her shoulder then he stopped kissing her. Gently, he pushed her away, but his eyes widened in horror when he saw her skin. Everywhere he had touched her had turned bright red. 

Ben’s blood ran cold. He staggered back a step, his hand covering his mouth. 

“It’s alright. You no longer have to pretend. We see your desires. The darkness inside you”. 

Anger flared inside of him, but he didn’t let it show. He took a deep breath before reaching with a trembling hand to run his fingers through her hair. She smiled to him, something he realized with a pang that Rey would never do. He tightened his grip and tugged her hair violently.

“What are you?” he yelled as he shook her. “Answer me!” 

Apparently impervious to any pain, she started laughing, her eyes shimmering with malice. 

“We are the true rulers of this earth”. 

All of a sudden, she disappeared, leaving him shaken and when she reappeared, she no longer looked like Rey. It was a shadow, hanging to the wall. A shapeless cloud of smoke with two embers glowing like eyes glaring at him. 

“The pain you feel. The hatred you have for yourself. It could all be gone”, a hundred voices declared at once. 

“I know who you are!” Ben retorted. 

After a short silence, they replied: “The old sorcerer is dying. He is weak, but you can help us. Help us and we will give you what you want!  Rey and Kylo Ren. They will be yours to command.

\- That is not what I want”, he argued but they ignored him:

“They will be your slaves.

\- You think I am mad! That I would allow you to come back and wreak havoc on this earth.

\- We will return, Ben Solo. We will find a way, either you help us or not!

\- Never! I will stop you! You will never live again!” The prince shouted and the shadow screeched in response.

The sound was so painfully loud that Ben had to cover his ears. He saw it diving towards him, as if to attack him and he braced himself for the impact, but it never came. It just… faded away.  

A complete silence followed as if to negate everything that had happened, but the prince had no doubt that it all had been real. His mind still struggled to process it, but he knew that he had to do something. If Kylo Ren didn’t know about it, he had to tell him. 

He left the courtyard in a rush, hoping that he would find his way out in the dark. The light coming from the gate guided his hurried steps, but when he saw what was waiting for him outside, he lost momentum.

There were soldiers. At least a dozen of them. They watched him as he came out of the palace and he noticed that they were on edge, perhaps even scared, at the way they clenched their blades. 

The ginger-haired officer was there too. He was standing with his his hands behind his back while two soldiers behind him where trying to control Kylo’s horse. 

“What is this?” the officer asked. 

Ben assumed a detached expression, shrugging his shoulders and replying with a smirk: 

“Your guess is as good as mine”. 

He was channeling his father’s manners. He did it without realizing, every time he was in trouble. It didn’t seem to please the officer. 

“You are not supposed to leave the fortress, Ren!

\- My horse and I needed some fresh air”.

The officer’s face contorted into an enraged expression. 

“Whatever you are doing here, the supreme leader will know about it. You won’t get away with this”. 

The prince snorted. He was expecting much worse that this. He knew he had caused trouble for Kylo, but at least their secret was still safe. 

A loud noise came from behind him. He turned around and saw the palace’s towers starting to break up. 

“What is happening?” screamed one of the soldiers.  

“What are you doing? Stop that!”, the officer yelled at Ben, his voice raw with anger. 

“I am not doing anything”, Ben tried to explain. 

“Stop him!” the officer ordered his men, no longer paying attention to whom he thought was Kylo Ren. 

The soldiers hesitated before advancing on the prince with their scimitars in hand. At the same time, the horse went feral. He reared, sending the two men who were holding his reins to the ground. 

Panic grew among the men. Ben knew that it wouldn’t end up well. One of the soldiers pounced on him with the clear intent to stab him, but Ben was able to dodge him. He twisted the arm of his assailant and took his weapon from him. The prince then faced the rest of the soldiers who starred at him for a short moment before attacking at once. 

Ben fought them, blocking their attacks with his newly acquired blade. He was is skilled at fighting. He had always been, but not only they had the advantage of the number, they revealed more skilled that he would have expected. Soon, he would be overwhelmed and one of their blows would hit its mark. He couldn’t afford distractions and he nearly didn’t notice the stallion charging in his direction him.

The prince jumped to the side, just in time to avoid the stamping fury. He watched with wide eyes the horse trample on the soldiers, their screams joining with the officer’s manic voice: 

“Don’t let him run!”

Run! Ben’s instincts kicked in. He got on his feet and ran towards the rearing horse. 

“Calm down!” he shouted, his arms lifted up to pacify the animal. 

The stallion was far more excited than he had been this morning, less responsive. The prince waited for an opportune moment to mount him and he thought, as he grasped the reins and climbed on him that he would be thrown to the ground. But, as if on cue, the horse started running the moment Ben was sitting on top of him. 

The prince twisted his neck around to see the officer screaming at the top of his lungs: 

“You will regret this, Ren!”. 

The palace was gone, completely folded in that small tile he had found. 

Ben frowned then hunched forward, holding to the stallion’s reins as they gained speed. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: All hell breaks loose!


End file.
